Advice From Chilling Effects On Cease and Desist Letters.

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Source:
http://www.chillingeffects.org/trademark/faq.cgi#QID250
May 3, 2008. These are excerpts from the FAQ page. Use the above URL to see the full page.

Advice From Chilling Effects On Cease and Desist Letters
www.chillingeffects.org

"Gorilla Chest Thumping" refers to the tone of most C&Ds: it’s nasty. The first thing to do is take a deep breath. The second thing to do is to acknowledge that the tone of the letter is a function of the letter writer’s perception that aggression is the best defense: do not take it personally. The third thing to do is ignore the tone and focus on the facts. You may eventually choose to respond aggressively yourself, but do not do so because your opponent has egged you into a useless game of whose gorilla is bigger. Take a tip from Ani Di Franco: "If you play their game, girl, you’re never gonna win." Face Up and Sing, Out of Range, Righteous Babe Records (1994).

Question: What facts should a C&D include? Answer: Recitation of Facts. Read this section of the letter carefully. It should contain some or all of the following information:

the trademark that is allegedly being infringed;
the trademark, domain name or other use that is allegedly doing the infringing;
the products and services on which your opponent uses the allegedly infringed mark;
the date your opponent commenced such use; and
the registration numbers, if the trademarks are registered with the Patent & Trademark Office

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