Never seen a company so low
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Forum Name: General Discussion
Forum Discription: General Mobile Electronics Questions and Answers
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=46984
Printed Date: April 19, 2024 at 7:25 PM
Topic: Never seen a company so low
Posted By: MAXST
Subject: Never seen a company so low
Date Posted: January 05, 2005 at 3:50 PM
https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?qt=adv&qs=monster%20cable%20products&page=1 This is just wrong and I for one am boycotting all their products. ------------- I need quality equipment, feel free to donate.
Replies:
Posted By: jstruckman
Date Posted: January 05, 2005 at 4:07 PM
i am guessing you just got fired from Monster Cable?
Jazzy
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Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: January 05, 2005 at 6:41 PM
No, Monster Cable is taking everyone who uses the word "monster" to court over trademark infringment. Time for a "monster" sale I guess. Oops, better add me to the list of people they are going to sue next, I would not be surprised at all.
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Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: auex
Date Posted: January 05, 2005 at 7:21 PM
Holy crap. That is rediculous. I hope they know what they are going up against trying to take on The Discovery Channel, they are supposed to be the largest network on tv in the world(at least that is what I heard, because it is seen by more people and is in the most countries).
-------------
Certified Security Specialist
Always check info with a digital multimeter.
I promise to be good.
Tell Darwin I sent you.
I've been sick lately, sorry I won't be on much.
Posted By: swamprat323
Date Posted: January 05, 2005 at 8:52 PM
Only in america. We are the sue me capital of the world. I dotn understand how thsi will hold up. I did a search for trade marks for monster, hell i found severl monster stuff. My thing is say they did own the rights to "monster" why would the trade mark goverment thing, what ever they are called give out a another trade mark to a differt company that needed to use the word monster. You think the trade mark company say "we cant do that" it all ready been taken.
Posted By: eurotek
Date Posted: January 05, 2005 at 9:17 PM
these lawsuits are ridiculous, i never used monster cable, but now ill just boycott them.. i hate unjustified lawsuits. guess they didnt make enough on their products i have a mechanic suing me cause he hurt himself working on a car i brought to him, and what makes it better, we were friends.. so far he has refused every offer the insurance company made, its a bogus suit by they dont want to go thru the expense of a jury trial, but looks like we are going there
Posted By: Ravendarat
Date Posted: January 05, 2005 at 10:17 PM
Monster sues people every year for copy right infringment and wins alot of those law suits. Its rediculous but the way it goes. DEI is the same way. They constantly sue for copyright infringment on their names. Dodge has to pay DEI an undisclosed sum of money for every Viper that comes off their assembly line because of this.
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double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer
Posted By: ~AFAccord~
Date Posted: January 06, 2005 at 1:20 PM
Never have been a fan of Moster Cable. Over-priced stuck up ......... I better stop. Well, this only hardens my opinion of them.
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Black Cherry
"Experience is something you never get until just after you need it."
Posted By: MAXST
Date Posted: January 06, 2005 at 6:26 PM
Whats really funny is that several companies trademarked it first...like 5-10 years before they did.
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I need quality equipment, feel free to donate.
Posted By: keithestabrook
Date Posted: January 07, 2005 at 12:00 AM
And attorneys wonder why they are so despised. Maybe TDC should send ol Jesse James and some of his crew over for a good old-fashioned monster-sized ass whuppin.
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Keith: Give a man a match and you may warm him for a minute; light a mnan on fire and you warm him for the rest of his life.
Posted By: Mad Scientists
Date Posted: January 07, 2005 at 8:20 AM
Posted By: keithestabrook
Date Posted: January 07, 2005 at 8:49 AM
Great! My thoughts exactly. And your research rocks. ------------- Keith: Give a man a match and you may warm him for a minute; light a mnan on fire and you warm him for the rest of his life.
Posted By: bluetruck
Date Posted: January 08, 2005 at 3:56 PM
boo to that. i hate stupid lawsuits.
Posted By: Monster Cable
Date Posted: January 12, 2005 at 4:06 PM
Hi - please read this statement from the CEO of Monster Cable, hopefully it will give you more information to base your decisions as well as provide contact information so you can learn about the details - for example - Monster did NOT charge Monster Vintage a 1% royalty fee - he was given FREE LICENSE to use Monster Vintage.
____________________________________________________
Monster Wrongfully Accused:
A Note from Noel Lee, CEO of Monster Cable Products.
There have been a lot of rumors, misinformation, and false accusations spread on the web about Monster Cable and its trademark and brand protection efforts. We have been wrongfully accused of suing any company using the “Monster” name, and as being a “corporate bully.”
Anyone who knows our company, or me personally, knows that we are not that kind of company, and I am not that kind of person. The information out there is categorically untrue.
Being a champion of the entrepreneur, and having started Monster in a garage with no money myself, I would be the last person to want to stop someone who had a legitimate right to use a trade name for their business. Those who know me and have met me, know that we have built a fantastic company from nothing through sheer hard work and a lot of sweat equity. You can check out our story at: https://monstercable.com/company_info/ and https://www.monsterparksf.com/info/WhoIsMonster.asp
I have even spoken at several colleges about how to become an entrepreneur, and value these opportunities. In fact, my parents were on one of the last boats out of China during its civil war. I truly have lived the American dream, and I am not going to prevent others from achieving it. I feel fortunate to have been born an American.
Some of the negative press you have read may have started with some newspaper articles that have mistaken information in them, or others who have found this opportunity to spread negative press for their own agendas.
Snow Monsters mistakenly portrayed that our objection to their attempt to register trademarks was a lawsuit, which isn’t true. We have not sued Snow Monsters. We would not try to harm a company whose focus is on ski education programs and products for children. They will be issuing a clarification on their web site in a few days.
In fact, Monster is a big supporter of programs for children. You can see what we have recently done with kids at Monster Park. https://www.monsterparksf.com/fun/Photos.asp. The videos with Yomi Agunbiade, director of Recreation and Parks, that is up on our web site shows our compassion for kids at the opening of Monster Park. https://www.monsterparksf.com/fun/Movies.asp?MovieName=MCP04tailgate_12MB
Before you form any negative impressions of my company or how I have directed it, permit me to straighten out some of the misconceptions.
1) We do not have any trademark infringement lawsuits pending, and we do not object or take action against businesses just because they sell products that have “Monster” in their names. If we did, we would never be able to run our business, not to mention the financial burden would crush us. We have better things to do than spend this kind of money and time.
2) There are over 1,100 registered “Monster” trademarks in the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, and probably hundreds more that are unregistered. We are not suing them or taking any action against them and did not do so when they filed the tradmarks. These marks have been allowed by the Trademark Office, just as our 50+ marks in the various classes listed below. Unless they interfere with any of these marks or dilute the “Monster” brand, we don’t object.
3) We have not sued or filed actions against the hundreds of companies that are using the word Monster. So if anyone is representing this to you, they are not right and should be corrected.
What I think has happened, is people are misinterpreting the U.S. Patent and Trademark office’s database. When you do a search on the USPTO database for Monster, it brings up a bunch of records dating back to 1983; like a Google search does. It appears people are seeing the search results and assuming they are lawsuits. They are not lawsuits.
In fact, most of the search results are duplicate listings or merely requests for 60 day extensions (which allow us to do further investigation to see if there are any potential conflicts). The database shows Monster has opposed about 80 trademarks over the last twenty five years. That’s about 4 trademark oppositions a year, which isn’t very many for a company that has over 50+ Monster trademarks and is a famous brand.
4) Trademark registrations and trademark oppositions are decided by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, not us. Even if we do object to a particular filing to register a trademark, it is the Trademark office that determines if the business or person filing for the trademark registration is entitled to it, NOT US.
5) Our examination and investigation of businesses filing trademarks with our name Monster is normal processes for any company having a trademark that they want to protect. We know we don't own the word Monster; however like any other trademark holder we do have the right and need to protect our Monster brand when it is in danger of being diluted, tarnished, or infringed.
6) The federal trademark law says that we are required to police our marks and enforce them or we will lose them, or risk weakening them. We didn’t make these rules. Congress and years of Supreme Court rulings have determined the rules of the game. This type of protection is authorized by federal and state statutes (referred to as anti-dilution laws) designed to prevent the weakening of a famous mark's reputation. For more information, you may want to check out: Nolo Press (https://www.nolo.com/lawcenter/ency/article.cfm/ObjectID/E24CD50D-14DE-4364-AC615684D93E6CBE/catID/D8932879-DC34-43DF-BF65FC92D55FEE5D#18C5EF1D-16AD-4F2A-B7EF7D691972BE58)
7) Anyone can use a trademark without having the trademark registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, as long as it doesn’t infringe or dilute someone else’s trademark. This is referred to as a common law trademark. There are many trademarks that exist under common law rights.
In the case of Snow Monsters, we have NEVER sued them, and we are not trying to harm their company. I think that their products are great and don’t cause us any problems, I have written them and told them so. They are also using the word “monster” for characters, not as a brand, which is how we use Monster. Please, see the list of our trademarks below that I have provided for you.
8) I hate frivolous lawsuits as much as the next person, and would never engage in a lawsuit that was frivolous. They are a waste of the public’s money, and the time of the parties involved. In fact, the courts do not allow “frivolous” lawsuits to proceed. The courts have procedural safeguards to eliminate frivolous lawsuits, as well as penalties (like Rule 11) that can be levied against attorneys and parties who bring such suits. We have never been accused by a court of filing frivolous lawsuits.
9) The newspaper articles and other rumors that said we sued the Chicago Bears, Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park, or a Cajun restaurant are all untrue. We have NEVER filed any lawsuits or other actions against them. Don’t just take our word for it, do a search of the court records, and the USPTO database, and we can guarantee that you will find that we have not sued (or even filed trademark oppositions) against these companies.
10) There are millions of Monster fans who love our company and love our products. My passion for the products and unrelenting drive to innovate and create the highest quality products is well known in the industry and with consumers. Where most companies find out how to take quality out of something to reduce costs, we find how we can “improve” products and make them the best of class. That’s why our customers love Monster products.
I am very sad indeed to see misinformation out there as it wrongfully portrays the company to be a corporate bully, when nothing could be further from the truth.
If anyone wants to talk with me about this, or if this email does not answer your questions, please email me at monsterinfo@monstercable.com.
Although I may not get back to you immediately since I am currently on travel, I will get back to you.
In the meantime, I ask everyone not to prejudge until you know all of the facts. Hope this clears things up for you. We merely want to protect the trademarks that it has taken me 25 years of hard work to build.If anyone else is under a wrong impression about our intention otherwise, please feel free to pass this on.
Monsterously yours,
Noel Lee
The Head Monster
Here is the list of our registered Monster trademarks. We have many more that are pending registration.
Class 6: Electronic Cables and Wires
Monster Cable
Class 9: Consumer Electronics
In class 9 we have the following registered trademarks, some which date back as far as 1978:
Monster
Monster Cable
Monster Power
Monster Music
Monster Batteries
Monster Car Audio
Monster Central
Monster Computer
Monster Internet
Monster Digital
Monster Game
Monster Home Theatre
Monster Lock
Monster Microphone
Monster Mobile
Monster Mounts
Monster Multimedia
Monster Networking
Monster Satellite
Monster Sport
Monster Standard
Monster Tips
Monster USB
Monster Wire America
Class 16: Consumer Electronics
Monster
Monster Connection
Class 18: Leather Bags and Apparel
Monster Design
Class 25: Clothing and Apparel
In Class 25, we have the following registered trademarks, some which date back over 15 years:
I Am A Monster
Monster
Monster Attitude
Monster Design
Monster Sport
Class 35: Advertising and Marketing Services
eMonster
iMonster
Monster Bucks
Monsterbook
Monsterguide
Class 36: Financial Services
Monstermoney
Class 41: Entertainment, Educational and Training Services
Monster Music
Monster Style
Class 42: Research and Development Services
Monster Music
Monsterlinks
Posted By: auex
Date Posted: January 12, 2005 at 4:13 PM
Just curious, What is your connection to Monster Cable? If nothing else, to add authenticity to your post.
-------------
Certified Security Specialist
Always check info with a digital multimeter.
I promise to be good.
Tell Darwin I sent you.
I've been sick lately, sorry I won't be on much.
Posted By: Monster Cable
Date Posted: January 12, 2005 at 4:21 PM
My name is Jim Klar and I manage our website - Noel has asked me to post this on your forum because he wants people to be as educated as possible before condemning his actions. I make no opinions and respect all of yours - this is just information, I am the messenger. My email is jklar@monstercable.com if you doubt I am an employee, feel free to email me or call and ask for me at our corporate number 415-840-2000.
As well, any of you can feel free to email Noel directly at nlee@monstercable.com or Dave Tognotti at dtognotti@monstercable.com for more information. Thank you for your time.
Posted By: jstruckman
Date Posted: January 12, 2005 at 7:02 PM
i think that is pretty neat, that Monster saw this thread and has posted on here, obviously they are a company that cares what us installer's think. I mean this is one little thread on one little board, and they take the time to let us know there side of the story, see if Rockford or Kicker or any other big companies do that, i have never seen it. And this is coming from Noel Lee himself, the head Monster. I tell you what, if i was the CEO and worth millions i would care less what someone was saying on some forum. Jazzy -------------
Posted By: Monster Cable
Date Posted: January 12, 2005 at 7:36 PM
Thanks for you post and acknowledgment - I shared your comments with Noel and he is pleased that at least his message is getting out there and people can make up their own minds once they've done their own research, not rely soley on heresay and 'the telephone game'. Thanks again for taking the time to respond, we are not as big a 'Monster' as people think. Noel's letter contains a lot of great information, he's glad to discuss is further with anyone.
Posted By: Ravendarat
Date Posted: January 12, 2005 at 11:29 PM
I am incredibly impressed that this was corporatly acknowledged. Its nice to see that when things like this come up they are adressed as opposed to just letting the information go with out explanation. Now if only someone would get in on the "High end cables dont make a difference" threads mabye we could get somewhere :) ------------- double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer
Posted By: stevdart
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 6:16 AM
The response from the MonsterCable webmaster, part of which says: "3) We have not sued or filed actions against the hundreds of companies that are using the word Monster. So if anyone is representing this to you, they are not right and should be corrected." ...is not in accordance with this information that was included in the link https://www.madmartian.com/legal/ posted above, which includes this lawsuit against Disney for the name of their movie "Monsters, Inc." https://www.madmartian.com/legal/disney_response.pdf for trademark infringement. Makes me wonder how much Mr. Lee and associates are making per year on trademark infringement settlements, and how happy the lawyers are about it on both sides of the table. Look at how many words are following "Monster" above that Mr. Lee managed to obtain trademarks for. I don't need to do a whole lot of research (and I won't) to see that MonsterCable is keeping the courts active, and although it seems kinda down-home and nice that this forum was responded to.... ....an occasional Google search by a webmaster's assistant is all that is needed to see what is going on over the internet. This forum is widely read and would be taken seriously by any company. This is not flattery, it's calculated damage control. Next time I look at the prices on Monster cable products, I'll know that a large percentage of the over-pricing is going into the corporate lawyers fund, which looks to be a well-oiled machine.
Posted By: ~AFAccord~
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 6:35 AM
Stevdart, thank you for you post. I agree with each of your points above. I believe you've presented the facts very clearly and with an un-biased perspective. Needless to say, my perception of Moster Products Inc. still stands unchanged.
-------------
Black Cherry
"Experience is something you never get until just after you need it."
Posted By: stevdart
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 7:53 AM
A look via Google: a search for the phrase "since I am currently on travel"........here is the same corporate cookie-cutter response posted 1-07-05 on Audioholics forum https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showpost.php?p=39401&postcount=43 Oh, gee...here's another one https://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=1599489#poststop Still feeling special at the12volt? ;) BTW, good follow-up question, auex.
Posted By: Monster Cable
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 11:17 AM
Monster Cable is a Consumer Electronics company focused on making new products. Check out icruzeipod.com for the latest bitchin' car audio accessory for iPod. Of the few 'high profile' complaints about Monster - namely from Mad Martian and Monster Vintage - find me an example of where we haven't resolved any trademark issues fairly and to everyone's satisfaction. We don't profit from protecting our name, it costs us money, but by current trademark laws, there is a complex process that happens when someone files to use a trademark, and thre trademark office makes that decision NOT us. OK, so Noel's letter is posted on some other sites, because he cares about his company and his name and does care enough to have people like me spend a lot of time trying to educate people so you don't go off half-c**ked with accusations that are mainly fueled by two people who got pissed off. In the case of Monster Vintage - they were granted absolutely royalty free use of their name...and none of the 1% of their revenue BS...the owner of that site needs to move on, it was resolved. Bring me a new and current scenario to the table, that one is getting dusty. Noel is more concerned about companies like Discovery, trading off his brand, not small businesses. It's easy to imagine a well-oiled machine reaping millions in profit off of this, but it's just not the case. Trademark protection is part of business and Monster plays by the rules and cares a lot about both parties involved.
This is taken DIRECTLY from the Monster Vintage website - do you see any 1% fee or cost associated with using his name? Yet the headline on his site says:
"THIS IS One of Many LICENSE AGREEMENTS From Monster Cable
And Have The Nerve to Demand Payment And 1% of Monstervintage.com Income" - https://www.monstervintage.com/#monstercable
And by the way - the owner was using our logo on his site to promote his products - that is what started all of this anyway....did you know that?
THIS IS One of Many LICENSE AGREEMENTS From Monster Cable
And Have The Nerve to Demand Payment And 1% of Monstervintage.com Income
Thank you for taking time on a Saturday to discuss this matter with me. I believe we are close to a settlement which will allow both parties to achieve their desired goals.
Here is summary of what we discussed on the phone today. If we can get through the two open issues (i.e. Term of License, and the money you want Monster to pay you), I will have have a final agreement drafted for your signature on Monday.
-Monster Cable will grant Monster Vintage a license to use "Monster Vintage" and "monstervintage.com" for the sale of new and used clothing on the Internet.
-Monster Vintage will not have the right to use "Monster" on clothing items or products.
-Monster Vintage will cease using the "M" logo, or any other logo style or font which is similar to Monster Cable's.
-The term of the license will be for 10 years, with 5 renewable options at Monster Vintage's request.
-Monster Vintage will not be charged a royalty fee for this license, nor a fee for any renewals.
-Monster Vintage must continue to operate its website at a quality level equal to what it currently providing. If Monster Vintage fails to meet these quality standards, Monster Cable may terminate the agreement after providing Monster Vintage notice and a 30 day period to cure.
-Monster Vintage will not file a registration (or attempt to register) any of the licensed marks.
-Monster Vintage may assign this license, if the company is sold upon Monster Cable's approval, which will not be unreasonably withheld, provided that the new owner agrees to the provisions of the agreement.
-If the parties are able to reach agreement on a license, Monster Cable will dismiss its lawsuit and claim for damages.
If I missed anything, please let me know.
Thank you,
Dave
David M. Tognotti
General Counsel
I think you guys should feel special on 12Volt personally - it's a good forum and a lot of Monsters use it, particularly our car audio guys.
Jim
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 12:29 PM
Right..... big brother at work boys. The new bully on the block is now controlling how the other companies do business and unless they comply they face a lawsuit and damages. A well oiled machine at work. May you guys have a highly disasterful year in the industry, there are lots of other wire companies to choose from. What a great way to ensure that your business heads down the crapper. Did the dude who made this decision do it on his own, was he coerced using the Jedi Mind Trick by the greedy lawyers or perhaps the drugs he may have been taking were of the wrong prescription (if prescribed)? Truly the most stupid thing I have seen a company do in my 18 years in this industry. ------------- Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: jstruckman
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 1:59 PM
Jesus Christ you guys! What the hell do you think trademark laws are for. Monster is playing by the rules. There is so much corporate things that go on to do business legally. I would not even try to know or learn them all, and i know most of the people on here don't them either, just cuz you do a search on Google and see something does not make you a legal expert. Now i am not saying Monster Cable are a bunch of saints or anything. But really how much do we know about what needs to happen for Trademark names. If Monster Vintage feels so opressed by Monster Cable, they can change there name.Hey Forbidden, give me a break about your conspiracies about the guy getting the wrong prescription so he can be talked into signing the contract, although that would be cool if it actually happened. We install stereo's, we aren't lawyers or big corporate businessmen. Our opinions do count and this is a great place to express them, but if we are gonna argue about this stuff, then let's make sure we know what the hell we are talking about. Thank you Monster Cable for taking the time to post on here. I wouldn't call it damage control, because ten guys posting on a forum is not gonna hurt Monster Cable in any way. Jazzy Jazzy -------------
Posted By: speedwayaudio1
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 2:06 PM
I think Monster Cable should work with TDC as a sponser of the "Monster Garage and Monster House " shows. They could provide the cables for the "builds". They would get some very good exposure. I know 2 diffrent people who went right out to buy MA audio set ups cause they saw Jessie James put it on the half pipe RV. I know some others that got Audiobahn stuff for the same resone. They saw it on Monster Garage. Monster Cable could do a lot worse then be tied to the Monster TV shows. If you use my idea I want 2%. lol
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Big Dave
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 2:46 PM
I've said enough. Basically it comes down to this. Monster Cable wants to make you their beyatch. You'll get it how they like it. Some people are fine with this, others will tell them to go pound sand. I am one of the latter and as a business owner I am in a postion to gurandamntee that I will not purchase nor install any of their equipment. Give them 1% of my revenues for using the word "monster".....right. Maybe I'll make a "monster burger". Tell me what the crap that has to do with a wire? Mind you if I did this it would be under penalty of trademark infringement and then I must agree to a whole pile of rules like the ones stated further back in this thread. Look at this little fact guys and you'll see a different perspective. Rest assured that if Monster Cable was not profiting from this, they would not be pursueing it so rigourously. ------------- Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: Monster Cable
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 3:23 PM
Forbidden - as stated above, we granted Monster Vintage FREE license to use Monster Vintage as a company name - you also made no acknowledgement that they were using or logo FIRST - that is what brought this to our attention. I respect your decision to buy and install ANY of our competitors wire, there are plenty of other options and that is your perogative. I just want to know what 1% are you referring to in your last post? Ask Victor Petrucci to stop deceiving visitors on his website that he is paying a royalty - he is not. Make your own opinions but that is the truth, guys. Jim
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 3:49 PM
I thought I had made a post that made a mention of this. Now I totally understand where you are coming from if another company is using your direct name and logo, no doubt, we are on the same page here. You guys for years have had a stellar company but with the recent publicity and turn of events regarding this publicity, some major damage control will be needed. However, the "big brother" attitude that your company has taken under the guise of the rules and laws of the tradmark office, well this is going a little - a lot too far. You cannot dispute the fact that you are going after companies that are not playing by the rules as they are written, correct? This attitude is well documented by a phrase like you made above. "we granted Monster Vintage FREE license to use Monster Vintage as a company name". This is all about control and that is all, you want and will under the rights of the trademark rules, guarantee that compliance will infact be taken to protect nothing more than a common name. In this case and the others that used the word "monster" in it's company name or descriptive element, you have chosen to go after them after being apprised of this by the trademark office. Who is going after these people, the trademark office or Monster Cable? Throw me a bone here and post the rest of the story, instead of just pages out of the book. Nothing can help you guys more than being transparent to the industry and the people who are in it. From where I stand the issue looks pretty one-sided, big brother.
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Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: stevdart
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 4:19 PM
Well said, Rob. And I will stand by my post, as it pointed out one bald-faced lie...and that's all I need to find to form an opinion. While the Monster webguy might call me "going off half-c**ked", and jstruckman says I am suddenly disillusioned and consider myself a legal expert (lol), I said nothing that wasn't apparent to everybody. We have a highly flawed legal system in the US, and while it can be a PITA to some, to others it can be "the American Dream".
Posted By: auex
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 4:31 PM
Does anyone have access to PACER?
-------------
Certified Security Specialist
Always check info with a digital multimeter.
I promise to be good.
Tell Darwin I sent you.
I've been sick lately, sorry I won't be on much.
Posted By: MAXST
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 4:46 PM
Personally i think Monster Cable is full of it. Your sueing over part of your company name. PART OF IT!! c'mon. Im even surprised your winning court cases by that move. Please tell me that is not a valid statement. You guys just found yourself a unclear definition of the trademark law and your going to make yourself a buck out of the deal. Its LOW and DIRTY in my opinion. ------------- I need quality equipment, feel free to donate.
Posted By: supradude
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 7:26 PM
I really don't see how they can win cases like that. Using part of their name shouldn't even have a legit arguement in court. This is all somewhat of a shock to me, and others too, or seems to be.
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'85 Toy
Posted By: xaudiopipex
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 11:25 PM
monster energy drinks are on that list. there is no way i am EVER going to buy anything from them, or let anybody i know for that matter.
Posted By: dennisinmo
Date Posted: January 14, 2005 at 1:20 PM
I looked at one example of filings concerning Monster. I cannot believe our court system would tolerate this attitude Monster is showing. I don’t know much about their products, but I guarantee I will make sure I do not buy any of their products. What has this country gone to?
Posted By: MAXST
Date Posted: January 14, 2005 at 4:04 PM
Sure they can. Court fees add up. You read the news about all the stupid lawsuits....like the ones McDonalds had...or Philp Morris. Not the companies fault that people don't eat right or know that smoking is bad. Yet fast food is a multi-million dollar business, hell its prolly multi-billion by now. Its a money maker. Get yourself an army of lawyers and look big and strong. The unsmart business owner would drop to their knees at this sight.
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I need quality equipment, feel free to donate.
Posted By: speedwayaudio1
Date Posted: January 15, 2005 at 3:34 AM
all companys have the right to watch out for themselves, but they need to remember this. "Live by the sword, die by the sword" or "what goes around".........you know the rest.
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Big Dave
Posted By: vk3hau
Date Posted: January 18, 2005 at 7:12 AM
What A load of Monster Bull$#!T. After reading all the Post I will Never Buy any more Monster "Master Bully" Cable grear. They lost me as a customer. therefor all My Customers aswel. ------------- 
Posted By: Mwsounds
Date Posted: January 18, 2005 at 5:53 PM
Wow! I can't believe that you guys are getting upset over a company looking out for itself! Monster might only be part of their name, but it is a distinguishing name. Just like Esoteric, or Streetwires, or RCA for that matter. All the car companies do it also. You don't want Chevy to name one of their cars after a Ford, or vice-a-versa. There is a lot of money to be made by companies that market knock offs. Like Monster said, they are just making sure that the companies that do end up using their name, maintain a quality standard consistant with Monster so as not to detract from their name. Call it the big brother bully, or corporate damage control, or what ever you want, but Monster Cable is a standard of quality and great workmanship. I don't blame Monster for protecting that at all. ------------- Thanks,
Mike Ward
Get it done right the first time!
Posted By: vk3hau
Date Posted: January 19, 2005 at 12:09 AM
Just incase you havent see Mike Shkolnik's reply to the dropping of the law suite against his company, and i quote from his website....... https://www.madmartian.com/legal/ From: Mike Shkolnik [legal@madmartian.com] Sent: Thu 7/11/2002 6:24 PM
To: Irene Baran
Cc: Anne Glazer; Noel Lee
Subject: Monster Cable
Dear Irene,
I understand your need to protect your trademark. Unfortunately, you chose one of the most commonly used words in the Halloween industry to represent your company. People were having monster nightmares before wire existed. You cannot commandeer the word from the English language. Here is some research I did for my response to the case:
Number of live registered trademarks for the word "monster": 20
Number of live registered trademarks containing the word "monster": 471
Number of domain names containing the word "monster" (domainsurfer.com): 6,619
Number of domain names that start with the word "monster" (domainsurfer.com): 3,303
Number of hits from a search for "monster" on google.com: about 5,950,000
Number of hits from a search for "monster cable" on google.com: about 126,000
Number of hits from a search for "monster shop" without "monster cable" on google.com: 768
Number of hits from a search for "monster shop" with "monster cable" on google.com: 1
Number of books on BarnesandNoble.com resulting from a search for "monster": 5,734
Number of books on BarnesandNoble.com about Monster Cable Products Inc: Zero
Number of movies with "monster" in the title as per IMDB.com: 285
Number of movies with "monster" in the plot description as per IMDB.com: 438
Number of movies with "monster" as a keyword as per IMDB.com: 723
Number of movies about Monster Cable Products Inc: Zero
Number of times "monster" appears in the script for Young Frankenstein: 185
Number of times Monster Cable Products Inc is referenced in the script for Young Frankenstein: Zero
Number of children who imagined there was a monster under the bed: probably millions
Number of children who imagined there was an audio interconnect cable under the bed: probably none.
So, as much as you would like to protect your trademark, you also have to recognize that the word "monster" is entrenched in the English language for its original meaning. I suggest concentrating future efforts outside the Halloween industry. Our monsters have tentacles, not cables. Though I was kind of looking forward to having a bunch of people show up to court in monster costumes. I was going to dress as Frankenstein myself.
Note that I was quite amazed at the tremendous support from the audio industry, especially considering I had only emailed some friends and a few people in the Halloween industry. I would never have predicted so many would be outraged in your own industry. It would be wise for you to look into this deeper. Part of it was my obvious lack of conflict with your industry, but I believe a lot of it had to do with the way your attorney handled the case. It was hard to read the initial threatening letter and the filing full of lies without being outraged. If you have not read these documents yet, I encourage you to do so. You should be embarrassed by them. While I appreciate your apology and dismissal of the case, it hardly seems adequate after statements like "at all material times, defendant acted in bad faith, oppressively and maliciously towards plaintiff, with intent to injure plaintiff, thereby entitling plaintiff to treble damages against defendants". The filing is full of lies like this. How much did you expect to get from an unemployed guy with a not-yet-profitable side business anyway?
In any case, I do appreciate that you have come to see reason and are doing the right thing by dismissing this case. As you can tell from the web page at www.madmartian.com/legal, I spent a great deal of time doing research for this case, many days all day until as late as 4am. I will be sending you a bill for my time. I am also expecting a bill from my Oregon attorney, Anne Glazer of Lane/Powell. I had not yet secured a California attorney.
I trust that you will do the right thing.
Thanks,
-Mike
Mad Martian® Museum of Modern Madness™
www.madmartian.com
Featuring:
The Eyeball Museum™ and gift shop
The Toilet of Terror™
Broccoli Man™ -------------
Posted By: haemphyst
Date Posted: January 19, 2005 at 1:18 AM
Damn, Rob... you SURE you ain't a lawyer? LOL
A warning to those who do not like (potentially) strong language - Here it comes... You were warned!
I gotta say this sounds a lot like Microsoft and the copyrighting of the word "Windows" - which they actually tried to do. That, and the Lindows BS they went thru recently... THAT company had to change their product name to Linspire. Ford said Kawasaki couldn't use Zephyr - it became the ZR line of motorcycles. A motorcycle! NOT A CAR! AND a car that hadn't been produced in twenty+ years! (and quite honestly, the Ford rep would have hurt the Kawasaki rep WAY MORE than the other way around) Corporate BASTARDS, all of 'em. I never did believe the BS about the Monster Cables (send me a BILL, jag-off - don't want to be accused of using a copy"right" out of school) and all of the magic perfomance attributes, (wire is wire - ask me about GEOMETRY, and we'll talk) but if I DID believe it, and I WAS willing to use their products, this would certainly sour my opinion of the company. Here is my official boycott notice. I will never even recommend these products again, which I did do at one time, but I think now I'll use Kimber.
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It all reminds me of something that Moličre once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."
Posted By: fuseblower
Date Posted: January 19, 2005 at 8:46 AM
After reading this post I think I have found a way to become rich. I don't think any one have copyrighted the alphabets and all of the words in the dictionary. Maybe I will find a way to do that an just sue people for typing or just talking at all. I understand monster position when it comes to the big companies because they don't give a darn about U. Trust me I've been in the corporate world from 10yrs and have seen it all. The big companies bring in about 1bil+ over a year and will sue you if you have an accident and damage any of the property regadless of its' value.
Posted By: Master Asylum
Date Posted: January 19, 2005 at 9:09 AM
Ok, I've read this a 2nd time. Got a few opinions. Concerning "Monster" being a distinguished name, I've never heard of this freaking company before this. THEY ARE NOT THE MOST POPULAR PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. Hell, I bet 75% of the companies getting smacked were like who the hell is that? I mean lets see, Disney's Monster Inc or Monster Cable or what ever the hell it is... Hmmm, yeah, I know who I was familiar with first. This is just BS and proves to the failing system America is accepting, only so long before this revolution thing begins again, you know, like what happened against the British (Twice or moreI think) and France. Stuff like this is just a nice consistent fuel. Protecting your name is one thing (Using a logo or a believable product reference/rip off) but pursuing companies with 100% no connection to you is ridiculous. And I don't count their name as a connection, you gonna go after the writer of the Munsters next for association to the name? Come on. This is absurd. Get the w**ker out of the hole and focus on being a justified business and not greedy. ------------- 1998 Monte Carlo w/
Eclipse CD8454
2xRockford 5.25" Power 2-way T152C
2xRockford 6"x9" Punch 3-way FRC4369
1xMemphis 16-MCH1300 5-channel
2xKicker 12" L5 Solobaric-2 Ohm
Posted By: mjvandermuss
Date Posted: January 20, 2005 at 9:34 AM
alright, i have used Monster in nearly every install i have done. thanks to whoever brought this up, i will no longer support these "FRIVOLOUS" lawsuits. now that they are gone, i need to find a new major supplier. any suggestions?
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Cpl Moose
USMC Iraq
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