A Monster Lawsuit

[Shockeye]

Ok, lawsuits are dumb. This one reaches new levels of dumb. However, to avoid any future lawsuits against f13.net, we will be removing the word "monster" from every future post. Let this be your first and final warning lest you get us sued.

Monster Cable, a company that makes high-performance audio and visual cables, is at war.

The Brisbane, Calif.-based company has filed trademark lawsuits across the country against companies using the word "monster." Discovery Channel has felt Monster's wrath for its show "Monster Garage." Bally Gaming is under Monster's glare because of its Monster slot machine. Monster sued Walt Disney Co., maker of the animated flick "Monsters, Inc." Even the Chicago Bears, a.k.a. "The Monsters of the Midway," once were eyed by Monster.

[HaemishM]

Wait, wait, wait. This article is telling me that Monster Cable, makers of really good audio and video cables, sued MONSTER.COM, a careers web site, for TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT? What in the fuck do the two even have to do with each other? Is there any consumer stupid enough to think that the makers of audio/visual cabling are suddenly going to start posting job resumes of complete losers and try to make money off that?

And Monster.com SETTLED?

WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THE TRADEMARK LAWS IN THIS COUNTRY?

[Dark Vengeance]

Apparently, these guys aren't too bright, given that they never went after a certain Academy Award-winning chick flick about a serial-killing lesbian whore.

Publicity stunt for teh win!

Bring the noise.
Cheers.............

Edit: Sometimes it helps to RTFA.

[DarkDryad]

First lets get this outta the way. Monster Cables blow ass. No self respecting audiophile/ video freak worth his salt uses thier shitty cables hence the ONLY reason they haven't gone under is because lawsuits are thier income stream.

That being said I hope the guy wins his suit against them basicly setting the pressident that just because someone uses monster in thier name it doesnt give you right to sue them. Hell I thought that the products or services had to be verry similar to be an infringment.

Someone needs to bitch slap Monster Cables( pieces of shit that they are) hard.

[MrHat]

First lets get this outta the way. Monster Cables blow ass. No self respecting audiophile/ video freak worth his salt uses thier shitty cables hence the ONLY reason they haven't gone under is because lawsuits are thier income stream.

That being said I hope the guy wins his suit against them basicly setting the pressident that just because someone uses monster in thier name it doesnt give you right to sue them. Hell I thought that the products or services had to be verry similar to be an infringment.

Someone needs to bitch slap Monster Cables( pieces of shit that they are) hard.

Actually, if you can get them at cost, they are superb.

[Flashman]

Hey,  I'm a trademark attorney and I'll vouch that for everyone's opinion that this is complete and utter bullshit.

Good luck trying to convice a judge that "monster cable" which sells wires is having their trademark diluted by "snow monsters" which gets kids to skis. If you go look at the uspto.gov website, you'll see these fuckers seem to have filed trademark applications  for all the marks they are suing.

for instance, Discovery Channel owns the mark "Monster Garage". Well, these fucks have just filed about 70 applications for the same mark, in every class of good and service you can imagine. Probably have done the same for every mark that has "monster" in it.

I don't want to get into a whole lecture about how TM's work but just trust me this is so fucking dumb its off the charts. It's pointless, its a waste of their money. Example, before you can obtain a mark from the USPTO, you have to show use in commerce...how exactly is "monster cable" going to show use for "monster garage" pillowcases, jewlery, and picture frames (these are some of their applications).

There's so much more I could say about this, but thinking about the stupidity of this company, honestly gives me a headache.

These applications and their oppositions to probably all of these marks, their lawsuits against small companies that they how to bully into submission are bullshit. BULLSHIT.


PS - and the article says they have 300+ marks..bullshit. They have 300+ APPLICATIONS.

[Arnold]

Actually, if you can get them at cost, they are superb.

Don't worry about him.  Audiophiles are fuckin' nutty and get taken for a ride by "high end" manufacturers endlesssly.

[DarkDryad]

First lets get this outta the way. Monster Cables blow ass. No self respecting audiophile/ video freak worth his salt uses thier shitty cables hence the ONLY reason they haven't gone under is because lawsuits are thier income stream.

That being said I hope the guy wins his suit against them basicly setting the pressident that just because someone uses monster in thier name it doesnt give you right to sue them. Hell I thought that the products or services had to be verry similar to be an infringment.

Someone needs to bitch slap Monster Cables( pieces of shit that they are) hard.

Actually, if you can get them at cost, they are superb.

None of the cables I've see or used even compare to hand made gold plated cables. Mass produced crap IMHO.

[DarkDryad]

Actually, if you can get them at cost, they are superb.

Don't worry about him.  Audiophiles are fuckin' nutty and get taken for a ride by "high end" manufacturers endlesssly.

My last gold plated patch cable cost me $3.15 to make. Yep being taken for a ride I say....

[Dark Vengeance]

I want to trademark the words "the" and "is". I'll charge a 25 cent royalty each time one is used.

So far, this thread would net me $14.25, including my sig in this post.

Bring the noise.
Cheers............

[Polysorbate80]

Most gold connectors are gold plating over a nickel base, and not worth the money.  It does nothing but make 'em look pretty.

Silver over a copper base would do a better job at the cost of not looking so pretty eventually, but who really looks at the connectors on their gear on a regular basis?

[DarkDryad]

Yeah while the Silver/Rhodium plated ones are the best I use the Gold to limit  overall cost as much as I can. Hell the Silver/Rhodium plated ones run 4 times what the gold plated ones run. Ill have to look but I think mine are copper/gold.
Regardless still doesnt change the fact that I'd take a custom made cable over Monster Cables mass produced shit any day

[stray]

I use Monster cables for my guitars. They better be good. Heh, I think I paid somewhere around $50 for 25 feet.

EDIT:

Monster

Lol? I was just about to reedit with it crossed out. I could have sworn I didn't do it before. Shockeye?

[Polysorbate80]

Nothing wrong with custom cables; if you build your own you can be sure what you're getting, at least :)

[Shockeye]

I warned you people that any reference to monster was going to be deleted. Seems people aren't taking this lawsuit stuff seriously. I don't want to be sued.

[Litigator]

Hey,  I'm a trademark attorney and I'll vouch that for everyone's opinion that this is complete and utter bullshit.

I know next to nothing about trademarks, but I am familiar with this kind of conduct as a general coercive strategy, and I think it's reprehensible. I would like to see every one of those defendants file a motion under Rule 11 or state equivalents against Monster Cable's lawyers, and teach thoses sons-of-bitches the meaning of pain.  

For the uninitiated, it's a strategy of people with money to burn to file baseless lawsuits against people who don't for purposes of intimidating them into a settlement with the prospect of extended and costly litigation, followed by the unpredictable result of putting the matter before a jury composed, as all juries are, of idiots. Often the plaintiffs couldn't actually afford to litigate these bullshit claims; it's a high-stakes game of chicken.

Sometimes this is the basis for frivolous class actions against corporate defendants.  One recent example: A bunch of dope fiends illegally obtained and abused the painkiller Oxycontin. Oxycontin is a time-release painkiller, which means you swallow the pill for relief from your terminal illness for 12 hours as it slowly dissolves in your stomach and releases medication into your bloodstream. Or, you can crush the thing and snort it or inject it, and get a huge blast of narcotic drugs.  And a bunch of hillbillies who live in places where good blow is unattainable did this, and died. Now their families are suing the drug company, claiming the MARKETING of the pill was defective.

Other times, corporate plaintiffs will use lawsuits to frighten and coerce the public.  For example, those shitheels at the RIAA, sending their packs of carnivorous lawyers after a bunch of 12 year-olds for sharing Britney singles. Did we really spend three years in law school to jack kids for their allowance money? Good going, Douches!

And now there is this thing. Any 2L with a C-average at the Thomas M. Cooley School of Law can see that there is nothing about the word "Monster" that can possibly be proprietary.