Life affirming
Here are some more choice quotes from Kurt Denke's letter to Monster Cable (our emboldening again),
I have seen Monster Cable take untenable IP positions in various different scenarios in the past, and am generally familiar with what seems to be Monster Cable's modus operandi in these matters. I therefore think that it is important that, before closing, I make you aware of a few points.
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1985, I spent nineteen years in litigation practice, with a focus upon federal litigation involving large damages and complex issues. My first seven years were spent primarily on the defense side, where I developed an intense frustration with insurance carriers who would settle meritless claims for nuisance value when the better long-term view would have been to fight against vexatious litigation as a matter of principle.In plaintiffs' practice, likewise, I was always a strong advocate of standing upon principle and taking cases all the way to judgment, even when substantial offers of settlement were on the table.
I am 'uncompromising' in the most literal sense of the word. If Monster Cable proceeds with litigation against me I will pursue the same merits-driven approach; I do not compromise with bullies and I would rather spend fifty thousand dollars on defense than give you a dollar of unmerited settlement funds.
As for signing a licensing agreement for intellectual property which I have not infringed: that will not happen, under any circumstances, whether it makes economic sense or not.
Our thanks go to the Unix-centric geeks' hangout Slashdot for the heads-up but even more to Audioholics for carrying the letter in full. Naturally, though, our biggest thanks go to Kurt Denke for writing it and making our day big-time (Kurt, the next time you're in London, the beers are on HEXUS!).
Oh, and folks, do yourself a big favour if your
attention span starts to droop while you're reading Kurt's letter - bookmark
the page and read it tomorrow when you're fresher. You really don't want to miss such life-affirming good stuff.
Also well worth checking out is Audioholic's
related forum thread where, as a for instance, in response to one comment - 'Nice, but I
still think they will take it to litigation' - Kurt Denke says,
On that point:
'Oh, no! Anything but that! Don't throw me into the briar patch!'
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Additional external links
The letter in full
Monster Cable home page
Blue Jeans Cable home page
Blue Jeans Cable UK home page (note the prices - not cheap, as we said, but, sadly, no one's perfect)
