Please note: .

This website cannot provide individual legal advice -- we cannot analyze your particular website or activity to assure you it is legal. (This is for your protection and ours -- we do not have the resources to analyze every site individually, and we don't want to give the impression that we have.) What we can do is help present the issues as lawyers think about them and answer general questions: Does the law really say that? What is the scope of copyright, trademark, or defamation law? What defenses exist for a given claim?

The introductions and frequently asked questions (FAQs) are written by law students, under the supervision of law school clinical programs and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). Because the information is written for a general audience, without investigation into the facts of each particular case, it is not legal advice. Unless one of the clinics or EFF has specifically agreed to represent you individually, which the clinics may do on a case-by-case basis, there is no attorney-client relationship with you.

Sending email to the Chilling Effects project or entering information in web forms does not create a lawyer-client relationship, with the heightened confidentiality provisions of such a relationship.

While we endeavor to give timely and accurate responses to the notices we receive, we cannot guarantee response to all submissions. We hope that the database as a whole will be a useful resource.

By posting cease and desist notices, we are not authenticating them or making any judgment on the validity of the claims they make. If your name or that of your organization appears in our database of notices, and you believe that the notice is fraudulent or defamatory, please notify us immediately. We will remove the letter from the public database pending a review. If the notice proves to be fraudulent, we will remove it permanently.

Report copyright infringements to Harvard's designated agent under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. (See for more information on the DMCA.)

See the roster of participating organizations for more information on the groups behind the Chilling Effects project.

When should you contact an attorney?
This website is meant as an aid to help you decipher Cease and Desist notices so you can make informed decisions about your course of action. If, after reading this, you think the C&D you received might have some merit, or you think you might engage your opponent in battle even if the C&D is, in your opinion, baseless, consultation with an attorney is always a good idea. The Online Media Legal Network (OMLN) is a network of law firms, law school clinics, in-house counsel, and individual lawyers throughout the United States willing to provide pro bono (free) and reduced fee legal assistance to qualifying online journalism ventures and other digital media creators. You can find an intellectual property attorney at www.martindale.com or by calling your state or local Bar Association and asking for a referral.