---
title: "Response to an IP infringement letter of demand (with unjustified threats position)"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/response-to-ip-infringement-letter-of-demand"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a23-response-to-ip-infringement-letter-of-demand"
area_id: "A23"
kind: "letter"
ai_level: "yellow"
version: 1
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-18"
---

# Response to an IP infringement letter of demand (with unjustified threats position)

> A reply for the recipient of an infringement letter about a trade mark, patent, copyright or design: holding position, request for particulars and the registration or chain of title, the client's grounds,…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/response-to-ip-infringement-letter-of-demand  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-18

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

A reply for the recipient of an infringement letter about a trade mark, patent, copyright or design: holding position, request for particulars and the registration or chain of title, the client's grounds, without-prejudice options, and a reservation of rights over unjustified threats.

## Key facts

- Kind: Letter. A letter or email you adapt and send.
- Practice area: [Intellectual Property — Patents, Trade Marks, Copyright, Designs](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs.md)
- Jurisdictions: Australia
- AI level: Yellow. AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at: 2026-10-18
- Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-10-18 against the 3 authorities it cites, for Australia.

## When to use it

Use when a client receives a cease-and-desist or letter of demand alleging IP infringement. Send a holding reply quickly if a deadline is close, then a substantive reply once the rights and the client's use have been checked. Where the threat has been sent to the client's customers or retailers, consider an unjustified threats claim early.

## How AI may be used

AI may summarise the demand, list the rights asserted and the deadlines, and draft the request for particulars; the lawyer decides the client's position, the grounds of defence and whether to assert unjustified threats.

**AI may:**

- Summarise the letter of demand: rights asserted, acts alleged, demands and deadlines
- List the registrations, numbers and owners asserted, for checking against the official registers
- Draft the holding reply and the request for particulars and documents

**AI must not:**

- Must not state that the client does not infringe, or that a right is invalid, without the lawyer's analysis
- Must not make admissions, offers or undertakings in the open letter
- Must not threaten unjustified threats proceedings unless the lawyer has decided to

**The lawyer checks:**

- Each right asserted checked: subsistence, registration status, owner, scope (classes, claims, design) and dates
- Client's use and dates checked against the rights, including any prior use, licence or other defence
- Open and without-prejudice material kept separate, and nothing in the open letter is an admission
- Unjustified threats position considered, including who received the threat and the loss caused

## Authorities

- [Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth) s 129 (relief from unjustified threats; defence where the mark is registered and the acts infringe; lawyers and attorneys not liable for acts in a professional capacity)](https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdb/au/legis/cth/consol_act/tma1995121/s129.html)
- [Patents Act 1990 (Cth) s 128 (relief from unjustified threats, including additional damages)](https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdb/au/legis/cth/consol_act/pa1990109/s128.html)
- [Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) s 202 (groundless threats; mere notification of copyright not a threat; counterclaim for infringement)](https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdb/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ca1968133/s202.html)

## Full text and drafting notes

The full text and the drafting notes are not part of this public page. Signed-in firm accounts can read them at https://ailawframework.com/precedents/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/response-to-ip-infringement-letter-of-demand and through the signed-in MCP connector https://ailawframework.com/mcp/firm.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*