cease-desist

What the source does

• FilesystemNone observedNo reads or writes in the source
• NetworkNone observedNo outbound calls in the source
• ShellNone observedNo commands run in the source
• DependenciesPinnedNothing floats
• SecretsNone foundNo keys in source

Five audit layers

Gates applied: no behavioural pass.

Audit 0.4.1 · source sha cb488a888d20 · 28 Oct 2026Report an issue or request a re-scan

• Publisheranthropics GitHub organizationOwner of the repository this skill is read from
• Source folderanthropics/claude-for-legal/ip-legal/skills/cease-desistThe exact folder we audited
• LicenceApache-2.0As the repository states it
• Commit pinned for this verdictcb488a888d20A new audit runs when the source changes
• Repository statusNot archivedLast push 4 days ago
• Sandboxed runNot runSkills are read, not executed; layer L4 is skipped

Its description: Draft a cease-and-desist letter (send mode) or triage one you received (receive mode). Use when asserting your rights against an infringer with a demand letter calibrated to your enforcement posture, or when an incoming…

---
name: cease-desist
description: >
  Draft a cease-and-desist letter (send mode) or triage one you received
  (receive mode). Use when asserting your rights against an infringer with a
  demand letter calibrated to your enforcement posture, or when an incoming
  C&D needs triage into a structured options memo with a recommendation.
argument-hint: "<--send | --receive> [context, counterparty, or path to incoming letter]"
---

# /cease-desist

Two modes. Pick one:

- `/ip-legal:cease-desist --send` — draft a cease-and-desist letter calibrated to your enforcement posture. Loud gate runs before delivery.
- `/ip-legal:cease-desist --receive` — triage a C&D someone sent you. Produces an options memo with a recommendation.

## Instructions

1. **Read the practice profile.** Load `~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/ip-legal/CLAUDE.md`. If it contains `[PLACEHOLDER]` markers or does not exist, stop and say: "This plugin needs setup before it can give you useful output. Run `/ip-legal:cold-start-interview` — the C&D skill depends on your enforcement posture, approval matrix, and practice-area mix, none of which are configured yet."

2. **Check matter workspaces.** Per `## Matter workspaces`: if `Enabled` is `✗`, skip — skills use practice-level context. If enabled and there is no active matter, ask: "Which matter is this for? Run `/ip-legal:matter-workspace switch <slug>` or say `practice-level`."

3. **Dispatch on `$ARGUMENTS`:**
   - If `--send` is present: run send mode (below). Walk through identify-the-right, identify-the-conduct, identify-the-relationship, identify-the-demand, calibrate-to-posture, draft, and the pre-delivery gate.
   - If `--receive` is present: run receive mode (below). Ask for the incoming letter (path or pasted text), then assess, identify exposure, present options, and write the triage memo.
   - If neither flag is present: ask once — "Are we sending a cease-and-desist (you're asserting) or triaging one we received (you're defending)?" — and then dispatch.

4. **Respect the gate.** In send mode, the loud gate runs before any final draft is written to disk. Do not skip it.

5. **Respect the approval matrix.** Pull the approver for the C&D row from `## Enforcement posture → Approval matrix`. Pull automatic escalations. Surface both in the gate; do not smother them.

6. **Hand off where appropriate.** In receive mode, if the recommendation is to respond firmly, offer to chain into `/ip-legal:cease-desist --send` pre-populated with the response context. If the recommendation is to pre-empt with a DJ action or TTAB cancellation, escalate to outside counsel per the practice profile's IP litigation row — do not draft.

## Examples

```
/ip-legal:cease-desist --send
/ip-legal:cease-desist --receive ~/Downloads/incoming-cd-acme.pdf
/ip-legal:cease-desist
```

## Notes

- The outgoing C&D does not carry the work-product header. The internal draft, the pre-send brief, and the triage memo do.
- Trademark rights are territorial; the draft assumes the jurisdictions declared in your practice profile's `Registered in:` footprint. If the conduct or counterparty is somewhere else, flag before drafting.
- Every `[CITE:___]` is unverified until a citator run. Source attribution tags stay on the draft.
- Non-lawyer users get a one-page brief for the attorney conversation before the gate clears.

---

## Purpose

A cease-and-desist letter asserts a legal right and demands that someone stop doing something. It is one of the most consequential letters an IP practice sends or receives. Sending one is a first step toward litigation — recipients can file a declaratory judgment action in a forum of their choosing, and overbroad or bad-faith assertions can be used against the sender. Receiving one starts a clock and forces a decision. This skill handles both sides with the guardrails the decision deserves.

Two modes:

- `--send` — you are asserting. Draft a C&D calibrated to the posture, gate before delivery.
- `--receive` — you are defending. Triage the incoming letter, produce an options memo, route to matter creation if warranted.

If the user does not pass a flag, ask once: "Are we sending a cease-and-desist (you're asserting) or triaging one we received (you're defending)?"

> **External deliverable (send mode):** the drafted C&D is sent to counterparty. Do NOT include the `PRIVILEGED & CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEY WORK PRODUCT` header on the outgoing letter. Internal drafts, pre-send briefs, and triage memos keep the header per plugin config `## Outputs`.

## Jurisdiction assumption

Trademark rights are territorial — a US registration does not travel. Copyright is Berne-multilateral but enforcement is jurisdiction-specific, and statutory remedies (including US §504 statutory damages) turn on local law. This skill assumes the jurisdiction declared in the matter or the practice profile's `Registered in:` footprint. If the infringing conduct, counterparty, or forum is somewhere else, flag it — the draft may not apply as written.

## Load context

- `~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/ip-legal/CLAUDE.md` → `## Enforcement posture` (posture, C&D triggers, soft-letter criteria, approval matrix, automatic escalations), `## IP practice profile` (practice area mix, registered jurisdictions, outside counsel roster), `## Outputs` (work-product header, role), `## Who's using this` (role — lawyer vs. non-lawyer)
- Any C&D template or enforcement playbook referenced in the practice profile's seed documents — read it, match the structure
- **Matter context.** Check `## Matter workspaces` in the practice-level CLAUDE.md. If `Enabled` is `✗` (the default for in-house users), skip matter machinery — skills use practice-level context. If enabled and there is no active matter, ask: "Which matter is this for? Run `/ip-legal:matter-workspace switch <slug>` or say `practice-level`." Load the active matter's `matter.md` for matter-specific overrides (e.g., posture override, approver override). Write ou

Excerpt, first 6,000 characters of SKILL.md, verbatim from the audited commit. It is text from someone else’s repository, quoted so you can judge it before your agent reads it.

git clone https://github.com/anthropics/claude-for-legal
git -C claude-for-legal checkout cb488a888d20

Works in

1. 2026-10-28
   ✓SAFE B 89 / 100

   first audit · source cb488a888d20

Questions about cease-desist

• github.com/anthropics/claude-for-legal/tree/main/ip-legal/skills — the audited source at commit cb488a888d20 and every finding aboveObserved · 28 Oct 2026

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