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> Monster's counsel had made a horrible mistake, and probably caused lasting harm to the company, by sending me that ridiculous letter This sort of thing alway

by pdpi 2y ago

> Monster's counsel had made a horrible mistake, and probably caused lasting harm to the company, by sending me that ridiculous letter This sort of thing always reminds of the Jack Daniels cease and desist letter[0], which, at least for me, had the exact opposite effect. 0. https://brokenpianoforpresident.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/jack-daniels-lawsuit-the-full-scoop/ https://brokenpianoforpresident.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/jac...

silisili 2y ago
Hadn't seen this before. What a nicely written letter. Explained why they have to do this, outlined a reasonable action step, and even offer to help said action. Moreover, it didn't contain a single threat. I wish all companies took such an approach. You catch more flies with honey, and all that.
- favorited 2y ago
  I used to be the webmaster for my parent's HOA[0], and I bought their .com domain name when it became available (a realtor had owned it originally). They eventually hired a firm to run the site, and I pointed the domain at their nameservers, and forgot about it (paying the ~$20/year in renewals, because that's not a lot of money & I have fond memories of living there). 15 years later, I get a registered letter from a law firm – counsel to the HOA – claiming that I was violating their trademark by owning the domain name, demanding that I turn it over to the HOA, etc. If an actual human had reached out to me, I would have happily transferred the domain. Instead, they paid a lawyer to be a dick about it – so I ignored the letter, they registered the .net, and everyone moved on. I still keep the domain up, and redirect it to their new URL, because as long as the .com domain works, people will be using it. Which means they will still want it, and I'm not giving it to them. At least not until they ask nicely, and catch me with honey instead of vinegar. [0]Despite this incident, their HOA is normally perfectly reasonable. It's a few hundred dollars per year to keep up with road repairs, signage, community facilities upkeep, etc.
  - flomo 2y ago
    [flagged]
    - bboygravity 2y ago
      It's funny how HN/forums seem to turn everybody to Dutch directness mode :p
      - jessekv 2y ago
        At this time of day, every other person on here is Dutch.
    - favorited 2y ago
      > If you are willing to type this up for karma If I cared about HN karma, I'd just post "why not Rust?" on every Go post, and "why not Go?" on every Rust post. > why wouldn't you just tell the lawyer this or contact the current webmaster Because the lawyer was trying to scare me with nonsensical legal threats. I'm not interested in helping people who threaten me with legal action. > your retelling just seems really petty. It was supposed to – I was replying to someone who wrote, "I wish all companies took such an approach. You catch more flies with honey" – they tried to "catch" me with vinegar, and I don't have a taste for it.
      - xlii 2y ago
        I, personally, thank you for sharing. I come here for news and anecdotes from smart and interesting people, as I perceive HN crowd. Your story entertained me in my Saturday morning and I’m grateful you decided to do so.
        favorited 2y ago
        Wow, thanks! As someone about to go to sleep on a Friday, I'm looking forward to seeing what is posted here on my Saturday morning :)
      - 2y ago
ldoughty 2y ago
This is probably one of the best lawyer notices I've ever read.
wordofx 2y ago
Wow pretty sure that’s the first time I’ve read a nice polite legal letter shared that wasn’t threatening.
- seattle_spring 2y ago
  Right? Monster is lucky they didn't have to square up against the venerable and vicious Leonard "J" Crabs*. * The "J" stands for "Good Work!"
Suppafly 2y ago
Seems like he's still using their design on the ebook on amazon all these years later.
- hugo1789 2y ago
  It seems that are used books This is the new design: https://www.amazon.com/-/de/gp/aw/d/1621050521/ https://www.amazon.com/-/de/gp/aw/d/1621050521/
  - Suppafly 2y ago
    Weird, when I looked it was showing it as the kindle edition and I could have clicked buy on it. Looking now, if you hit other editions it'll show you the paperback with the old cover but if you click through the editions, eventually it'll only show you the new one for all of them.
- rzzzt 2y ago
  It now resembles a different bottle (with the blessing of the manufacturer): https://mashable.com/archive/jack-daniels-rejection-letter-guy-gets-new-book-cover-design https://mashable.com/archive/jack-daniels-rejection-letter-g...
twoodfin 2y ago
Relatedly, Jack Daniel’s recently won a unanimous Supreme Court decision affirming their right to pursue trademark claims against a dog toy manufacturer. The toy company claimed their products were parodies, which have heightened protection from such claims, but the Court didn’t buy it. https://www.oyez.org/cases/2022/22-148 https://www.oyez.org/cases/2022/22-148 Fun oral argument for an extended dog walk; you get to hear the justices argue about scatological jokes and whiskey bottle shapes. JD’s advocate, Lisa Blatt, is also reliably a hoot.
cruffle_duffle 2y ago
That is like the most polite legal letter I’ve seen!
justinc-md 2y ago
The Netflix Cease and Desist (https://www.eicoff.com/drtv-blog/netflix-cease-and-desist https://www.eicoff.com/drtv-blog/netflix-cease-and-desist) for a Stranger Things themed pop-up bar also comes to mind.

by pdpi 2y ago

silisili 2y ago

Hadn't seen this before. What a nicely written letter. Explained why they have to do this, outlined a reasonable action step, and even offer to help said action. Moreover, it didn't contain a single threat. I wish all companies took such an approach. You catch more flies with honey, and all that.

favorited 2y ago
I used to be the webmaster for my parent's HOA[0], and I bought their .com domain name when it became available (a realtor had owned it originally). They eventually hired a firm to run the site, and I pointed the domain at their nameservers, and forgot about it (paying the ~$20/year in renewals, because that's not a lot of money & I have fond memories of living there). 15 years later, I get a registered letter from a law firm – counsel to the HOA – claiming that I was violating their trademark by owning the domain name, demanding that I turn it over to the HOA, etc. If an actual human had reached out to me, I would have happily transferred the domain. Instead, they paid a lawyer to be a dick about it – so I ignored the letter, they registered the .net, and everyone moved on. I still keep the domain up, and redirect it to their new URL, because as long as the .com domain works, people will be using it. Which means they will still want it, and I'm not giving it to them. At least not until they ask nicely, and catch me with honey instead of vinegar. [0]Despite this incident, their HOA is normally perfectly reasonable. It's a few hundred dollars per year to keep up with road repairs, signage, community facilities upkeep, etc.
- flomo 2y ago
  [flagged]
  - bboygravity 2y ago
    It's funny how HN/forums seem to turn everybody to Dutch directness mode :p
    - jessekv 2y ago
      At this time of day, every other person on here is Dutch.
  - favorited 2y ago
    > If you are willing to type this up for karma If I cared about HN karma, I'd just post "why not Rust?" on every Go post, and "why not Go?" on every Rust post. > why wouldn't you just tell the lawyer this or contact the current webmaster Because the lawyer was trying to scare me with nonsensical legal threats. I'm not interested in helping people who threaten me with legal action. > your retelling just seems really petty. It was supposed to – I was replying to someone who wrote, "I wish all companies took such an approach. You catch more flies with honey" – they tried to "catch" me with vinegar, and I don't have a taste for it.
    - xlii 2y ago
      I, personally, thank you for sharing. I come here for news and anecdotes from smart and interesting people, as I perceive HN crowd. Your story entertained me in my Saturday morning and I’m grateful you decided to do so.
      - favorited 2y ago
        Wow, thanks! As someone about to go to sleep on a Friday, I'm looking forward to seeing what is posted here on my Saturday morning :)
    - 2y ago

ldoughty 2y ago

This is probably one of the best lawyer notices I've ever read.

wordofx 2y ago

Wow pretty sure that’s the first time I’ve read a nice polite legal letter shared that wasn’t threatening.

seattle_spring 2y ago
Right? Monster is lucky they didn't have to square up against the venerable and vicious Leonard "J" Crabs*. * The "J" stands for "Good Work!"

Suppafly 2y ago

Seems like he's still using their design on the ebook on amazon all these years later.

hugo1789 2y ago
It seems that are used books This is the new design: https://www.amazon.com/-/de/gp/aw/d/1621050521/ https://www.amazon.com/-/de/gp/aw/d/1621050521/
- Suppafly 2y ago
  Weird, when I looked it was showing it as the kindle edition and I could have clicked buy on it. Looking now, if you hit other editions it'll show you the paperback with the old cover but if you click through the editions, eventually it'll only show you the new one for all of them.
rzzzt 2y ago
It now resembles a different bottle (with the blessing of the manufacturer): https://mashable.com/archive/jack-daniels-rejection-letter-guy-gets-new-book-cover-design https://mashable.com/archive/jack-daniels-rejection-letter-g...

twoodfin 2y ago

Relatedly, Jack Daniel’s recently won a unanimous Supreme Court decision affirming their right to pursue trademark claims against a dog toy manufacturer. The toy company claimed their products were parodies, which have heightened protection from such claims, but the Court didn’t buy it. https://www.oyez.org/cases/2022/22-148 https://www.oyez.org/cases/2022/22-148 Fun oral argument for an extended dog walk; you get to hear the justices argue about scatological jokes and whiskey bottle shapes. JD’s advocate, Lisa Blatt, is also reliably a hoot.

cruffle_duffle 2y ago

That is like the most polite legal letter I’ve seen!

justinc-md 2y ago

The Netflix Cease and Desist (https://www.eicoff.com/drtv-blog/netflix-cease-and-desist https://www.eicoff.com/drtv-blog/netflix-cease-and-desist) for a Stranger Things themed pop-up bar also comes to mind.