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I got a trademark cease-and-desist letter. What now?

Lawyers call this: cease-and-desist letter · demand letter · declaratory judgment

Short answer

A cease-and-desist letter is a demand, not a court order. You do not have to stop using your name because a letter says so. But do not ignore it, and do not answer it the same day. Note any deadline, keep your records, and check whether the sender’s claim holds up before you respond.

These disputes end in different ways. One side changes its name, or both sign an agreement that lets each keep its name on stated terms, or the dispute goes to court.

What changes the answer

Who used the name first
The sender’s rights depend on when it started using its mark, or its filing date if it registered. If you were first, the letter may be weaker than it sounds.
Whether the sender has a federal registration, and for what
Look up the sender’s registration and read the goods and services it covers. A registration for unrelated goods proves less than the letter may suggest.
How close the names and products really are
The question is whether buyers would likely think the two businesses are connected. The law calls this likelihood of confusion. See Is another trademark too close to mine?
What the letter actually demands
Stopping all use, changing a domain, destroying stock, and paying money are different demands with different costs.
How much you have invested in the name
A name you adopted last month is cheaper to change than one on a storefront, packaging and ten years of reviews.

The rule

A trademark owner can sue in court for infringement of a registered mark under 15 U.S.C. § 1114(1), or of an unregistered mark under 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a). The owner has to prove valid rights and a likelihood of confusion. A letter is the owner’s claim, not a finding.

A letter can also cut the other way. If it creates a real and immediate dispute, the person who received it may be able to ask a court to declare that it does not infringe. 28 U.S.C. § 2201(a); MedImmune, Inc. v. Genentech, Inc., 549 U.S. 118, 127 (2007) (asking whether, under all the circumstances, there is a substantial controversy of sufficient immediacy and reality). That is a reason the sender may prefer to negotiate. It is also a reason your reply should be careful.

What to do next

Start with steps you can take yourself.

  • Calendar the deadline. A deadline in a letter is the sender’s, not a court’s. Treat it seriously anyway.
  • Keep everything. Do not delete web pages, posts, emails or sales records. If a lawsuit follows, you may have to produce them.
  • Gather your dates. Collect proof of when you first used the name, where, and for what: invoices, dated web pages, signage, and advertising.
  • Look up the sender. Search the USPTO database for its registration or application. Note the filing date, the registration date and the goods listed.
  • Do not reply in anger, and do not concede. A quick apology or a promise to stop can later be read as an admission.

Then pick a direction. You can comply and rebrand, with a transition period if you negotiate for one. You can negotiate a coexistence agreement, which sets out who uses the name for what and where. Or you can contest the claim, if the dates and the facts support you.

If the sender’s goods are unrelated and it has no registration, some owners write a short, factual reply on their own. If the names and the goods overlap, or the letter threatens suit, a lawyer earns the fee, because the first reply shapes everything that follows.

Brandon Leavitt at Valet Law, PLLC can review the letter, check the sender’s priority against yours, and draft the response.

Have an attorney review it →

Attorney review is provided by Valet Law, PLLC, a law firm separate from Trademark Valet, LLC. Keep confidential facts out of public tools. Your first message to Valet Law should identify the parties and the general issue only. Wait until Valet Law confirms it can discuss the matter before sending confidential details.

Who checked this

Reviewed and approved by Brandon Leavitt on 2026-10-02.

General information about how trademark law works. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not make anyone your lawyer.