: Re: Is it possible my book could be taken off-line for sale if there is a cease and desist letter? I have written a true story on my experience with some individuals and major corporations.

@Bryan361

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This is a legal question more than a writing question. You probably should find a lawyer or law-related site to ask.

What country are you planning to publish in? Laws vary by country.

But just based on my general knowledge of United States law: A judge might possibly issue an injunction based on preliminary findings. You should then have an opportunity to go to court and make your case, but he could order sales of your book stopped until a hearing or trial could be held.

A retailer or publisher might decide to defy such a court order, but that would involve huge risks. Unless they viewed your book as very important, or decided that they wanted to make this a test case for freedom of speech, I suspect they'd obey the court.

That said, American courts are very reluctant to engage in what they call "prior restraint", that is, preventing publication. You don't give a lot of details, but I gather that you're saying that people may object to embarrassing things about them being published. I don't think an American judge would block publication of a book on those grounds. They're far more likely to say that you can go ahead and publish whatever you want, but that the people you write about can then sue you for libel.

If I were you, unless your goal is just to hurt people you are mad at regardless of the cost to yourself, I'd be far more concerned about libel suits than censorship. Even if you have all the facts on your side, you'd have to defend yourself in court, and that can be very expensive and time-consuming. Whether it's worth it is up to you.

If you're not in the US, laws of your country may differ greatly. As I said at the start, you'd get more useful answers from a lawyer than a bunch of writers.

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