Free Cease and Desist Letter Template for Copyright Infringement

Stop copyright theft in its tracks with this easy-to-edit letter template (and a quick legal explainer).

Ok, let’s get started on cease and desists! As promised, here is the Cease and Desist Letter template.

A cease and desist letter can be sent if an individual or a company harasses, commits libel/slander, breaches a contract, infringes on copyright, etc. It is basically a formal letter requesting that someone/an entity stops doing something that is damaging to the sender.

I just want to make the distinction between a cease and desist letter and a cease and desist order, because it is important to know the difference. A letter is more of a request and is not legally binding, however it lets the pirate/thief know you’re on to them and that this whole violation-of-your-intellectual-property-shenanigan may get legally ugly if they persist.

If the cease and desist letter fails to scare said pirate away from your work, then it is time to more on to an order. A cease and desist order is legally binding and enforceable by a court. If someone ignores your letter, they cannot ignore a court order, otherwise they will be fined, sued or in some cases, imprisoned.

So, now we’re all aware. Let’s get you that cease and desist letter template. You can use the following in either a physical letter or an email format.

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Cease and Desist Notice¹

From:²

____________________

____________________

____________________

____________________

Date: _______________

To:³

____________________

____________________

____________________

____________________

RE: Cease and Desist - Copyright Infringement⁴

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to you to formally notify you of the following unauthorised activity: ____________________________________.⁵ Failure to discontinue the aforementioned activity will result in legal action being taken against you.⁶

I am the author and copyright holder of the original literary work entitled {insert book title here}, which was first published on {insert publication date here}. This work is protected under the copyright laws of {insert your country here}, and I have not granted permission for it to be reproduced, sold, distributed, or displayed by any third party.⁷

It has come to my attention that this copyrighted work is currently being {sold/distributed/made available for download} without my authorisation via your platform or services, specifically at the following URL:
{Insert direct link(s) to infringing content}⁸

This use is a direct violation of my exclusive rights under copyright law, including the rights to reproduce, distribute, and publicly display the work. I hereby demand that you:

1. Immediately remove or disable access to the infringing content
   
   

2. Cease and desist from any further unauthorised use or distribution of my work
   
   

3. Provide written confirmation within 7 days that you have complied with this demand⁹
   

Please be advised that if these actions are not taken, I will pursue legal action, including but not limited to filing a formal DMCA takedown notice and seeking monetary damages.¹⁰

This letter does not constitute a complete statement of my rights and claims, and nothing contained within it should be taken as me giving up any legal rights or options I may have.¹¹

I trust this matter can be resolved promptly and amicably. Thank you for your attention to this serious issue.

Sincerely,
{Insert your name here}

Enclosures (in a letter) or attachments (in an email): {This is optional, but if you can, include evidence such as screenshots, original publication date, or copyright registration if available}

1. I haven’t worked out how to do this on Substack, but make sure these words are centralised, bold, HUGE, unavoidable and entirely unmistakeable.

2. Insert your address here. I know it may feel weird giving out your address to the ‘enemy,’ but it is standard legal practice. It is not technically a legal requirement to include it, but it will strengthen the letter’s validity as a legal document if you need to take further legal action.

3. The recipient is the retailer facilitating the unauthorised sale of your intellectual property, for example: Amazon (in a straight forward case), or a domain provider, like GoDaddy (if the website is dodgy and less straight forward).

4. Put this in bold and re-word the second section as appropriate.

5. Example: the unauthorised sale of my intellectual property on your website.

6. In this first paragraph, you quite literally just set out what the recipient is doing wrong and that you will take legal action against them if it continues.

7. In this second paragraph, you set out your statement of ownership and your rights.

8. Super important to include a link to the exact page/website(s) that are infringing on your rights. Big companies like Amazon and GoDaddy will expect you to do most of the legwork here.

9. In this paragraph, explain which of your rights this unauthorised action has violated and literally list what you want the recipient to do about it.

10. And make sure they are aware of what could happen if they do not take action.

11. This paragraph is really important. It may seem obvious that you’re not giving up any of your rights, but you need to be obvious and specific about it.