A lawyer with a sense of humor
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| Sander_Marechal Apr 15, 2008 10:15 PM EDT |
That letter is one of the funniest legal letters I've ever read (and I've read quite a few gems over at Groklaw). |
| dinotrac Apr 16, 2008 3:12 AM EDT |
Yeah. I liked it. Note that, while he may be trying to push some discovery stuff up to the nasty letter stage of things, he is pretty much right on in his discussion of legal matters. The cost/benefit part is also true except for one important little detail: To the IP holding company, cost/benefit is spread out over the universe of licensees and not evaluated on a per-licensee basis. So, if they really believe they have a valid complaint (which seems unlikely), or, in the alternative, strongly believe they will win anyway, Monster would be well-advised to sue Blue Jeans and stomp them into the ground. The money they lose stomping Blue Jeans would be made up striking fear into the hearts of others. Except that, I don't think they've got a slam dunk. |
| Bob_Robertson Apr 16, 2008 4:17 AM EDT |
> "Not only am I unintimidated by litigation; I sometimes rather miss it." Oh yeah! Guess what brand of cables I'll look for next time I need some! I think I'll put it up on the quotes board next to Greenspan's "irrational exuberance". |
| tuxchick Apr 16, 2008 8:06 AM EDT |
Monster Cables are ridiculously overpriced. They might have some genuine super-duper high-end gear that really is better, but their bread and butter is selling two-dollar cables to the gullible for a hundred bucks. The letter is great :) |
| vainrveenr Apr 16, 2008 3:13 PM EDT |
Another vote here for the strikeback letter! One of the big remaining questions is How will Monster Cable actually respond to the challenge in the letter by Denke? - By vigorous follow-through "to sue Blue Jeans and stomp them into the ground" as suggested above, perhaps by fully addressing or ignoring Denke's requests as Monster Cable sees fit ? - By putting its promised infringement-suit in slow-gear based upon the absolutely ENORMOUS current show of support for Blue Jeans Cables at sites such as LXer, /., Digg, and similar such sites ? - Similarly, by Monster Cable acting to drag out a potent and elongated Discovery Phase in order to blunt Denke's currently magnified effect from his letter ? - By completely reversing its threat of an infringement suit against Blue Jeans Cables (maybe an apology?) and to commence "striking fear into the hearts of others" by going after much easier LHF instead ?? |
| tracyanne Apr 16, 2008 6:16 PM EDT |
Quoting: I say this because my observation has been that Monster Cable typically operates in a hit-and-run fashion. Your client threatens litigation, expecting the victim to panic and plead for mercy; and what follows is a quickie negotiation session that ends with payment and a licensing agreement. Your client then uses this collection of licensing agreements to convince others under similar threat to accede to its demands. Now what other large monopoly have I seen doing exactly that? |
| dinotrac Apr 16, 2008 6:23 PM EDT |
The problem for Monster Cable is that this is now a very public event. Other potential litigation targets -- more accruately, blackmail targets -- will be watching. They can't just walk away without losing the ability to bully others. |
| jdixon Apr 17, 2008 6:22 AM EDT |
> They can't just walk away without losing the ability to bully others. Well, I expect that was the intent of posting the letter, don't you? |
| dinotrac Apr 17, 2008 6:25 AM EDT |
Jdixon - You bet. This guy misses the fight and, if he was the kind of lawyer he says he was, is offended by people who lower the profession's standing in this way. |
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