A cease and desist is a legal document dispatched in a formal manner to request that an individual or organization ceases a certain practice that is suspected to be illegal. It is applied widely in situations of infringement of intellectual property, defamation, use of trademarks in an unauthorized way, or misleading practices. Although a cease and desist is not a court order, it is a formal warning, and the objection of the sender is documented. It frequently describes the so-called violation and demands remedial measures. Such notices are commonly utilized in the settlement of disputes prior to legal action.