As soon as possible after receiving a demand letter, you should consult with a licensed attorney who practices in the field of intellectual property law. If possible, try to find someone who has experience in the specific field of intellectual property law that you are charged with violating -- trademark, patent, copyright or trade secrets. Even if you intend to handle most of the case on your own, consulting with an attorney can help you define the charge and focus some ideas for negotiating a resolution. If you see that there is a significant similarity, and if you cannot come up with a valid defense to the claim against you, then you may find that agreeing to the demand is the best course of action. But if you are convinced that your item (product, book, trademark) is substantially original, and if you believe you are not in violation, then you may wish to proceed. Either alone or through your attorney, contact the party who sent the demand letter. Try to set up a meeting to talk about the demand and review the dispute. Before the matter gets any larger, you may find that talking about it can help reach a resolution. When you go into a meeting to negotiate any legal matter, you need to be prepared. Your lawyer can begin doing research regarding the law of intellectual property. You can gather together all the facts and evidence that you have related to the intellectual property that is in question. This may contain any or all of the following items: Samples of your item (writing, art, software, trademark, or whatever it is) Samples of the other party's item Any notes or memoranda you have regarding the creation of your intellectual property. It could be a defense if you can show that you or your company independently created the item without reference to any outside work. Written statements from any employees who worked on the creation of your item Drafts, notes or sketches of your work in progress Any market research you have that shows your sales or income due to this intellectual property item Market research showing the other party's sales or income related to the intellectual property item At this level of negotiation, you should be careful not to disclose too much information, but at the same time you need to share enough information to show the demanding party that you did not steal his or her intellectual property. Gauge the tone of the meeting, and decide if a resolution is possible. Some possible outcomes at this level might be: You may convince the other party, by a show of your evidence, that you did not violate the intellectual property, so you can both continue using your respective items. You may reach an agreement for some minor modification of your item, so that it will no longer infringe upon the original. Consider the possibility of a mutual licensing agreement. With such an agreement, you could be allowed to continue your use, while paying a small licensing fee to the other party. In doing something like this, be careful not to admit to any wrongdoing, or you may give the other party ammunition to use against you in court later. You may agree that your item is in violation, and agree to stop using it. Although this is not a desired outcome, reaching such a conclusion at an early meeting like this is much cheaper than entering into a losing legal battle. If a simple meeting does not resolve the dispute, you and the other party may agree to mediation. This is a semi-formal process of negotiating, involving a neutral third party who is trained to help reach consensus. You can run an Internet search for mediation agencies in your vicinity, or contact the clerk's office of the court in your area. In mediation, you each meet individually with the mediator, who sets some ground rules for discussion. The mediator then brings the two parties together to talk about the dispute, with a focus on the possibility of resolution. While the two sides are often focused on their own agenda, the mediator can bring a fresh viewpoint to get to resolution. Arbitration is often the final step before going to trial. It has some of the appearances of a trial, but moves faster and with less formality. In arbitration, you and the opponent each present your evidence to a neutral party, who listens to your presentations as though it were a trial. In the end, the arbitrator issues a decision. Before you begin the process, the two sides need to decide if they wish the arbitrator's decision to be "binding" or "non-binding." Binding arbitration means that you both agree to abide by the arbitrator's decision, without further recourse to the court or further legal process. Non-binding arbitration does not hold you to the arbitrator's decision. You will go through the process of arbitration and hear the decision, to give you a good idea of what a judge or jury would likely rule. Afterward, you are free to decide to follow the decision, go to court, or settle the dispute in some other way.
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One-sentence summary -- Contact an attorney. Compare the original to your work. Set up a meeting with the demanding party. Prepare for the negotiation meeting. Attend the meeting and try to reach a resolution. Consider mediating your dispute. Take your dispute to an arbitrator.

As noted earlier, there can be any number of reasons why your boyfriend might be ignoring you. However, it's possible that he isn't answering because he doesn't think that the things you say are important; he sees your nattering as idle chatter, stuff that doesn't earn a reply or lead to a discussion. Learn to talk to him on his level, and he'll be interested in no time; or, leave the celebrity gossip and hair and nails stuff for the girls. Talk to him about his passions. Maybe it's sports; maybe it's racing, maybe it's chemistry. It could be anything. Talk about what he likes to do and be excited about his passions. Every boy has a passion; you just have to find it. Ask him questions about the things he likes. Ask him why he likes what he likes. Ask him to explain his favorite hobby, and how he first got interested in it. If you're excited about something he's excited about, he won't be able to ignore you. Don't interrupt him when he's on a roll. When he's all excited about something, let him keep talking. Don't interrupt when he's got momentum. Tell him that you want to go on a date, and hopefully, he'll get the hint that you want him to set it up. If he doesn't get the hint, then you might have to figure it out yourself. It'll be a small price to pay if the date goes well. Remember to do something that he enjoys. Shopping might be something you'd do all day long if you had the chance, but it's probably not his idea of a great date. See if you can go to an amusement park, the movies, a performance of a band he likes, etc. Dress your best, put a smile on your face, and wear your hair just the way he likes it. Sometimes, all a guy will need is a little wake-up call that his girl is the prettiest girl on the block. That should shake his funk up. Try to focus on good stuff during the date. Keep him engaged. Ask him questions. Be playful, warm-hearted, and optimistic. Give him a chance to make everything better, and remind him of why he's your boyfriend in the first place. If the date doesn't go well, tell him that you hoped the date would be an opportunity to connect and that you worry you just aren't connecting in the way you used to. If he still doesn't seem to care, he doesn't deserve another shot.
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One-sentence summary --
Reach out to him on his level. Make an effort to go out on a date.