Cease and desist letter – breach of Confidential Information

What is a breach of confidential information cease and desist letter and when should you use it?

Often in the course of business one party is given access to confidential information belonging to another party.

This could be an employee, an independent contractor, or a potential investor or business partner.

The disclosing party will usually limit the purposes for which the information can be used and those parties (if any) with whom the information can be shared.

We have a range of Confidentiality Agreements, Non-Disclosure Agreements, and Undertakings that can be used to regulate the use of confidential information, available here.

If the recipient of the confidential information misuses it, the disclosing party will want to take steps to ensure that the misuse ceases and is not repeated.

A useful first step in enforcing your rights is to send the infringing party a cease and desist letter.

If this does not have the desired effect, it may be necessary to take legal action.

This Breach of Confidentiality Cease and Desist Letter sets out the accusation of misuse and asks the recipient of the letter to “cease and desist” from using the confidential information without consent.

There is an optional paragraph requiring the recipient to hand over any documents containing the confidential information.

There is also a request for an undertaking from the recipient to desist from using the confidential information without consent.

The letter warns that other legal remedies will be pursued if a response is not received by a specified date.