Do take the letters seriously... determine whether there are valid legal claims presented. But if there are not, it is a scare tactic, so don't stress over it.
Do take the letters seriously... determine whether there are valid legal claims presented. But if there are not, it is a scare tactic, so don't stress over it.
Do you know what they call the person who graduated at the bottom of their law school class? "Counselor."
Do not hire the cheapest lawyer you can find. The amount of work required to analyze this situation is a few hours at most; and the hourly-rate difference between a good lawyer and a bad lawyer is going to be far less than what it will cost you if you get bad advice.
> You might even get someone to file motions for you pro bono
No attorney worth a damn is going to provide a commercial entity pro bono representation.
You should educate yourself and seek counsel if you believe you need it. Because ultimately the situation is no different than getting a physician's opinion or a consultant's opinion or whatever else - you seek that expertise because you feel you need it. And usually that means you have to pay for it. But a lawyer's opinion, even if it's a good opinion, doesn't inoculate you from being sued or threatened or whatever else an antagonizing party may do.
But don't freak out. Everyone is terrified when they get their first lawyer letter. Everyone is outraged when they get their second. And when they get their third (or fourth or however long it takes to learn), they use it for toilet paper.
Once you do some searching you'll get a better idea of whether you need legal counsel. And just because you receive a letter doesn't mean you need to respond no matter what absurd timeline the demanding letter might have suggested.
Eventually they'll have to put up (and file a lawsuit) or shut up.
I know this, not only as an attorney today, but as someone who (before I got my law degree) did not do this and paid a very high price for my immaturity. Hiring an attorney could have saved me many thousands of dollars.
Actually, "reliance on advice of counsel" is a valid legal defense. It's an interesting legal privilege lawyers have given themselves.
Reliance on advice of counsel is not a blanket defense against any arbitrary crime you could be charged with or civil liability you might face. It is only a defense in a certain limited set of circumstances; and it also requires you to waive attorney-client privilege.
See https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?arti... for a good, if dated, overview of the law.
How bad is that lower quarter? Can you quantify that in any way?
Their intent is to prevent their customers and potential customers from hearing criticisms of their products.
That alone is enough to make me never do business with them again. Legality means nothing, this was a breach of ethics and honesty.
We are a tiny company building an open-source alternative to an existing SaaS app and we have received two such letters in the last 6 months. First time I just replied in an email, second time I had the lawyers respond to create a legal trail. I don't think we were at fault in both the cases but it is still not worth it.
This is not reasonable advice. 95% of lawyer's letters that we receive are without legal merit and do not lead to any legal action if ignored. You can generally tell which ones have merit. If you're not certain, sure you can ask a lawyer - but even asking a lawyer costs money, so don't bother for letters that are obviously attempts at intimidation.
As a serial entrepreneur that is the brains in building the entire hardware and software of several acquired systems I have been the recipient of multiple such certified delivery cease and desists. While my case does not match that of this topics point mine was threating to inform me to stay out of the industry which clearly I did not, just a scare tactic without grounds because they knew of my talents. My most recent exit I secured a legally binding document with the new owner that states I cannot be pursued for anything by either the parent company or any future subsidiary. It has been crickets.
As others say your best option is to read and understand your situation since you lived it as no one will care more about it than you, not even a lawyer you are paying but they will gladly take your money, again from experience.
Is the validity of the legal claim that relevant? If deep pockets co. wants to sue you into oblivion can't they just drag the trial forever and make sure you go bankrupt from legal fees before reaching a judgement?