Build a demand letter with every working part — deadline computed for you
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Demand letters conventionally count calendar days from the letter's date — that is what the builder puts in your letter. Business-day deadlines are the norm elsewhere: a DMCA counter-notice forces a 10–14 business day restore window under 17 U.S.C. §512(g)(2)(C). Pick one convention and say so in the letter, which this template does.
| Claim type | Where the claim lives | Demand focus | If they ignore it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trademark infringement | Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §1114 & §1125(a) | Stop the mark, destroy goods, account for profits | Injunction under §1116; money under §1117, up to 3× for willful conduct |
| Copyright infringement | 17 U.S.C. §501 | Remove works, destroy copies, license or pay | Actual damages + profits, or $750–$30,000 per work statutory, up to $150,000 willful (§504) |
| Defamation | State law | Retraction or correction, removal, apology | Suit; many states shield damages unless a written retraction demand came first |
| Harassment / unwanted contact | State harassment & stalking statutes | Stop all contact, no third-party contact | Protective order; continued contact after written demand reads as willful |
| Debt collection calls | FDCPA, 15 U.S.C. §1692c(c) | Cease communication about the debt | Up to $1,000 per action + actual damages + fees (§1692k) |
| Trade secret / NDA breach | DTSA, 18 U.S.C. §1836 + contract | Return materials, stop use, certify deletion | Injunction; exemplary damages up to 2× actual for willful and malicious misappropriation |
The claim type drives the legal-basis paragraph in your letter — pick the one that matches the conduct, not the one with the scariest numbers. If the conduct is hosted content theft, a DMCA takedown notice is usually the faster lever; this letter is for the infringer itself.
| Route | Typical cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| This generator | $0 | First demand, building the notice record yourself |
| Attorney demand letter | Typically $250–$1,000 flat | High-stakes disputes, repeat offenders, anyone who wants the letterhead |
| DMCA takedown (hosted content) | $0 | Fast removal from a platform — statutory clock, no negotiation |
| Copyright Claims Board | $40 filing + $60 case fee = $100 | Copyright claims capped at $15,000 per work, $30,000 total (half that for works not timely registered) |
| Federal lawsuit | Filing fees plus attorney time | When the letter is ignored and the claim justifies it — costs scale fast |
Attorney flat-fee ranges are typical market quotes, not a price list — complex claims run higher. The DMCA takedown cost calculator works the same trade-off for takedown services.
A cease-and-desist letter has no statutory form — unlike a DMCA notice, no federal checklist exists. What separates a letter that works from an email vent is whether a judge could later read it cold and understand five things: who the parties are, exactly what conduct is objected to, what law it violates, what is being demanded, and when. Every one of those parts is also what makes the recipient take it seriously.
The generator assembles a plain-text demand letter in six numbered sections: parties, conduct, legal basis, demands, deadline, and consequences. The legal-basis paragraph is written per claim type and cites the actual hook — the Lanham Act for trademarks, §501 for copyright, §1692c(c) for debt collectors. The deadline is computed from your send date, and a payment demand converts the letter from "stop" to "stop and account." The five-part panel checks the result live; clear the escalation checkbox and you can watch the letter lose its teeth.
Describe the conduct with dates, quantities, and URLs — specificity is what separates notice from noise. List demands one per line, each one something the recipient can actually do. Pick a response window: ten to fourteen days for online conduct, thirty when compliance means rebranding. Then send it certified mail with return receipt requested, and by email for speed; the certified receipt is your proof of delivery. Keep an untouched copy of what you sent, plus screenshots of the conduct as it stood on the send date.
Marcus Chen runs Chen Cycle Works LLC. Since March 2026 a competitor has been selling bikes under a near-identical logo and the trade name Chen Cycle Co., with documented sales of about $4,200. He fills the form with the defaults shown above — parties, the conduct paragraph with the storefront URL, three demands, the $4,200 accounting demand — and the generator produces a complete letter running — words with a five-of-five check.
The deadline math: dated September 2, 2026 with a 10-day window, compliance is due September 12, 2026 (calendar convention — a Saturday, so the certified-mail return receipt may print the next business day, September 14). Counted in business days instead, ten lands on September 16. The stakes paragraph is not decoration: if Avery keeps selling and a court later finds willfulness, the Lanham Act lets damages or profits be multiplied up to three times — his $4,200 documented sales could become $12,600, before fees and an injunction. If instead Avery had lifted Chen's product photos, the faster first move would be a DMCA takedown notice — the two letters solve different problems, and the copyright damages estimator prices the difference.
No. A cease-and-desist letter is a demand, not a court order — nothing in it can force anyone to do anything on its own. Its power is evidentiary: it puts the recipient on written notice of the claim, which matters later for willfulness findings, injunctions, and in some cases fee awards. Only a court order or an agency action can compel conduct.
No. Anyone can send a demand letter, and for small disputes a clear DIY letter is often enough to end the conduct. A lawyer letter adds weight and keeps strategy privileged, which is worth it when the stakes are real — attorney demand letters typically run $250 to $1,000 as a flat fee.
Ten to thirty days is the working convention. Ten to fourteen days reads as serious for online infringement, where compliance takes an afternoon. Thirty days fits demands that require rebranding, taking down signage, or unwinding a campaign. A deadline measured in hours reads as pretextual and weakens the record you are building.
Nothing happens automatically — that is the honest answer. The letter is your on-ramp, not your enforcement. Your follow-ups are a lawsuit, an injunction motion, a platform takedown, or for small copyright claims a Copyright Claims Board case capped at $15,000 per work and $30,000 total (halved for works not timely registered). The ignored letter becomes evidence the recipient knew about the claim and kept going.
Once at most. Under the FDCPA, 15 U.S.C. §1692c(c), a collector who receives your written cease-of-communication demand may contact you one more time only — to say it will stop or that it intends to invoke a specific remedy like a lawsuit or arbitration. Anything more violates the Act, and §1692k lets you recover up to $1,000 per action plus actual damages, costs, and attorneys fees.
Yes. Demands that exceed what the law allows — pay far beyond any plausible claim, or we will call the police — read as extortion. Posting the letter publicly can create its own defamation exposure, and sending claims you cannot support invites a fight you were trying to avoid. Tie every demand to a real claim, deliver the letter privately, and let a lawyer handle escalation.