How to Prevent a Company from Misusing Your Trademark or Intellectual Property

The intellectual property of your company may be its most valuable asset. In this section, we cover intellectual property rights, such as trademarks and copyrights, and how to prevent someone from infringing them.

Here’s what we’ll talk about:

What is a Letter of Cease and Desist?
What if a Cease and Desist Letter is ineffective?
What exactly is a DMCA takedown?
What are the consequences of failing to register a copyright or trademark?
What documentation do I need to establish I own a trademark or a copyrighted work?

There are legal ways to prohibit someone from copying your creative works, which are protected by copyright laws, or from using your company or product name, which is protected by trademark laws. Nevertheless, those possibilities differ depending on whether you registered your copyright or trademark and the kind of illegal usage. One of the most usual initial actions is to write a Stop and Desist Letter to the infringing party, requesting that the infringing behavior cease.

What is a Letter of Cease and Desist?

A Cease and Desist Letter is a letter sent to another person or company by you or someone on your behalf (such as an attorney) demanding that they cease utilizing your intellectual property or halt some other behavior. It is one of the initial stages in bringing legal action against someone who is infringing on your trademark or other intellectual property.

In general, cease and desist letters will contain the following:

A account of the events that motivated you to write the letter.
Your contact details
The amount of time that the person or corporation receiving the letter has to “stop and desist” before you take further action.
Any papers or evidence to back up your allegation of copyright or trademark infringement

Cease and Desist Letters are often sent via mail, although they may also be delivered through email, fax, or any other manner. Regardless matter how you send the letter, make a duplicate for your records before sending it.

What if a Cease and Desist Letter is ineffective?

If the individual or corporation does not cease violating your rights, you may pursue further legal action.

If your property is being abused or published online, you may also utilize a DMCA takedown request.

What exactly is a DMCA takedown?

A DMCA takedown is a notification sent by the copyright owner to a person or entity that is facilitating the infringement. This notification is used instead of filing a lawsuit for copyright infringement.

The owner of the copyright will inform the internet service provider that hosts the site of the violation. The ISP will then delete the material that you have complained about. This prompt response saves the ISP from being sued for infringement.

A DMCA takedown will often fail if the ISP is situated in a country that does not have a copyright pact with the United States, such as China or Romania.

What are the consequences of failing to register a copyright or trademark?

It is not necessary to register your copyright or trademark. You retain ownership of your intellectual property the moment you develop it. But, registering your copyright or trademark grants you extra legal rights. You effectively relinquish your intellectual property rights if you do not register it.

Maybe the two most significant advantages of registering your intellectual property are:

If you must initiate formal legal action to safeguard your rights, you may be paid attorney costs as part of your litigation; and the monetary compensation that you may get may grow if your intellectual property is registered.

Moreover, by registering a trademark or copyright, you are informing the government that you produced the intellectual property you are claiming. When someone searches for comparable names or items, it will appear in the search results. It also creates a legal presumption that you own the intellectual property as of the registration date.

What documentation do I need to establish I own a trademark or a copyrighted work?

Registering a trademark or copyrighted work is the simplest approach to show ownership. Even if you haven’t registered your brand or copyrighted work, you may still establish that you own it. You may do this in many ways:

In advertising, use of a trademark or copyrighted content.
Obtaining consumer or staff testimonials concerning the material’s usage.
Producing material plans, drawings, or other publications.

The idea is to demonstrate that you used the copyrighted or trademarked work before the other person or business did. You must also demonstrate that it is identical or similar enough that a consumer or prospective client would be perplexed as to the difference between the items or materials.

Remember that an unregistered trademark or copyright will not normally harm persons or companies outside of your jurisdiction. Assume another firm with the same name is operating in Florida, but you are in California. In such instance, your unregistered trademark is unlikely to assist you stop them from using your name. You can only have that privilege if you have a registered trademark.