Post by Audun EPost by Brynjulf BlixHar aldri kjøpt noe fra MonsterCable, og etter å ha lest dette kan jeg
heller ikke si at jeg blir fristet til å begynne med det...
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%7E33%7E2611825,00.html
Blix
Idioter som lager idiot-kabler for idioter.
Så sant; men i alle tilfelle:
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: http://monstercable.com/company_info/ and
http://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 never try to harm a company whose focus is on ski
education programs and products for children.
In fact, Monster is a big supporter of programs for children. You can see
what we have recently done with kids at Monster Park.
http://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.
http://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
don't have any intention of suing them or taking any action against them.
These marks have been allowed by the Trademark Office, just as our 50+ marks
in the various classes listed below.
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 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.
Don't just take my word for it, please search the database for yourself.
(Click on the links and you will see the words "Extension of Time" on many
of them).
http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?qt=adv&pno=&qs=Monster+Cable+Products%2C+
Inc.&propno=&propnameop=&propname=&pop=&pn=&pop2=&pn2=&cop=&cn=
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
(http://www.nolo.com/lawcenter/ency/article.cfm/ObjectID/E24CD50D-14DE-4364-
AC615684D93E6CBE/catID/D8932879-DC34-43DF-BF65FC92D55FEE5D#18C5EF1D-16AD-4F2
A-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 ***@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
Monster Web Site
http://www.monstercable.com