"I would rather spend fifty thousand dollars on defense than give you a dollar of unmerited settlement funds" By Walter Olson on April 16, 2008 12:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

A cease and desist letter from Monster Cable to Blue Jeans Cable, alleging various sorts of infringement of Monster's intellectual property, draws a ferocious response from Blue Jeans' president Kurt Denke, formerly a practicing lawyer. "Let me begin by stating, without equivocation, that I have no interest whatsoever in infringing upon any intellectual property belonging to Monster Cable. Indeed, the less my customers think my products resemble Monster's, in form or in function, the better ... It may be that my inability to see the pragmatic value of settling frivolous claims is a deep character flaw, and I am sure a few of the insurance carriers for whom I have done work have seen it that way; but it is how I have done business for the last quarter-century and you are not going to change my mind." And much more (Audioholics; Slashdot). Comments By Bumper on April 16, 2008 12:32 AM I read the entire letter and I must say that it is the most complete, down-to-earth, common-sense bitch slapping I do believe I have ever read of such matters. Mr. Denke's letter left me wondering how many of the Monster Cable attorneys had to just throw away their underwear after reading his response. Apple should buy his company and put him in charge of their IP legal department.