Best ‘Cease & Desist Letter’ Ever….IMHO

Cease and desist letters are increasingly common annoyances for many webizens.     Usually a powerful written response is all that is needed to get rid of this particular pest.    The New Media Rights Project at CalWestern School of Law has a number of good resources on dealing with these legal vermin.

But every once in a while,  you can get creative like Stephen Kaplitt and tell it the way it is without telling it exactly where to put it.     He apparently crafted a letter in response to a  cease-and-desist letter seeking to shut down a website using the domain name westorange.info.  The website, operated by a West Orange resident, has information about the town.

The owner of the website is Jake Freivald, a politically active gent who lives in West Orange,   The West Orange township informed Freivald that his website is “is unauthorized and is likely to cause confusion.”  It goes on to demand that Freivald cease using the domain name and “anything else confusingly similar thereto.”    Freivald’s attorney, Stephen Kaplitt,  responds : “I am pro bono counsel to Jack Freivald and write in response to your ‘cease and desist letter……..Obviously it was sent in jest, and the world can certainly use more legal satire. Bravo, Mr. Trenk!”

He continues:   “Not that we didn’t get the joke … but since Mr. Freivald has not previously encountered a humorous lawyer, he actually thought your letter may have been a serious effort by the Township to protect its legitimate interests. Rest assured, I’ve at least convinced him that it was certainly not some impulsive, ham-fisted attempt to bully a local resident solely because of his well-known political views. After all, as lawyers you and I both know that would be flagrantly unconstitutional and would also, in the words of my 4-year-old son, make you a big meanie.”

Kaplitt points out several other domain names incorporate the name “West Orange,” including westorangebassanglers.com and westorangemassagetherapy.com. Kaplitt then goes on to say he could make some points if Trent had intended his cease-and-desist letter to be taken seriously.

Click here to read a brilliant piece of sarcasm:  148538709-Stephen-Kaplitt-Cease-and-Desist-Response-Letter

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