What is a "C & D" letter?

Cease and desist (also called C & D) is a legal term essentially meaning "halt" or "end". It is used in demands for a person or organization to permanently stop doing something (to cease and desist from doing it).

The term is used in two different contexts: A cease-and-desist order can be issued by a judge or government authority, and has well-defined legal meaning. A cease-and-desist letter can be sent by anyone, although typically they are drafted by a lawyer.

Cease-and-desist letters
A cease-and-desist letter is a letter demanding that the recipient stop continuing a certain behavior. The behavior in question can include publishing materials or making statements that the letter's sender considers copyright infringement, trademark infringement, patent infringement, slander, or libel. The letter typically threatens legal action if the recipient continues to publish the materials in question or make statements similar to the ones in question. It is similar in form, although not in function, to a demand letter, which alerts the recipient to a pending claim for money damages, usually as a result of a tort or a breach of contract.

There have been criticisms from civil liberties and free speech groups that cease-and-desist letters may be used by wealthy individuals and corporations to bully their less-monied opponents into silence, as many people will comply with even an unjustified cease-and-desist letter due to their unwillingness to engage in an expensive lawsuit. Such groups call this a chilling effect on free speech.

In the US, a recipient of a cease-and-desist letter put in a "reasonable apprehension" of litigation may respond through a request for declaratory judgment proceeding in his own jurisdiction.

A Cease and Desist Letter can also be drafted by a person who is being continually harassed and/or intimidated by an individual or a group.


Court orders
A cease-and-desist order is an order from a judge or government ordering a halt to an illegal activity. This prohibition is sometimes done as the outcome of a trial, in which case it is a permanent injunction against the activity, and sometimes done as an emergency measure to prevent possibly irreparable harm, in which case it takes the form of a temporary injunction. An injunction against speech issued before it occurs (e.g. preventing a pending publication) is called prior restraint.


Administrative agencies
Many government administrative agencies also have the ability to issue cease and desist orders. Government agencies frequently issue cease and desist orders to halt the sale of unregistered or fraudulent securities, to halt unsafe banking practices, and to enforce licensing statutes. Frequently, these orders will contain a period of time for the subject of the order to request a hearing. If a hearing is not requested, the cease and desist order will become final and the agency will be able to enforce its order in a court of law.