The short answer
Keep the complete letter and the deadlines it specifies. Have the claimed rights and precise demand assessed promptly. A cease-and-desist letter does not by itself prove infringement, but it should not simply be ignored merely because you have not yet made your first sale.
Preserve the correspondence and the full timetable
Keep the letter, email attachments, envelope or delivery information together. Record receipt and every date mentioned. Distinguish a deadline set by the sender from an administrative or court deadline. There is no single response period you can safely apply to every trademark warning regardless of the contents and circumstances of the particular letter.
Identify exactly what is requested: a reply, an undertaking to stop, information, payment or changes to your branding. Do not sign a broad declaration merely to make the issue go away quickly. Address any necessary request for more time promptly; hoping to discuss the matter later does not automatically pause a running deadline.
Compare the claimed right with your planned use
Put the information about the earlier trademark alongside your plans: sign, owner, goods and services, territory and relevant dates. Preserve drafts and anything already published. An allegation of similarity is not a complete analysis, but a spelling difference does not settle the matter either or remove the need to examine the particular circumstances.
The position can matter before the first sale. Subject to its requirements, Swiss trademark legislation provides remedies against threatened infringement as well. Have the significance of particular preparations or announcements assessed. Do not assume that an empty online shop or the absence of an invoice necessarily rules out every possible claim against the proposed use.
Sources: IPI: Conflicts with earlier trademarks · Fedlex: Trade Mark Protection Act, Article 55
Plan the launch around a specific decision
Discuss available paths against the actual risk: a reasoned rejection, changes to the presentation, a negotiated solution or another name. Establish who may approve further packaging, advertising or print orders while the issue is assessed. The commercial exposure should not grow simply because nobody has an overview of work already under way.
A later trademark application does not automatically remove earlier rights. If another name makes sense, have that name assessed before investing again in design and promotion. New registration and handling the letter are separate tasks; the scope and charges for assistance with the conflict should be agreed expressly rather than presumed to be included.
What you can do now
- Collect the original letter, delivery information and all stated dates.
- Compare the planned sign and offering with the claimed rights.
- Have binding undertakings and the next launch steps assessed promptly.
Frequently asked questions
Can I ignore the letter while I have not sold anything?
Do not rely on that fact alone. Threatened infringement can also matter where the legal requirements are met. The specific preparations and demands need to be assessed.
Will filing my own name immediately help?
A later application does not automatically remove a possible conflict with earlier rights. Clarify the claimed rights and intended use first rather than treating registration as an immediate resolution of the dispute.