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Monster Cable learns nothing, sues Monster Transmission
Wondering why Engadget still has a permanent ban on covering Monster Cable products, even after the company tried to make amends for its frivolous lawsuit and strong-arm settlement offer against Monster Mini Golf? Well, it's because the company hasn't actually changed its ways -- not only did we just catch them trying to peddle their overpriced snakeoil cables using rigged displays for the third time, Noel Lee's lawyers have dusted themselves off and filed a lawsuit against Monster Transmission, a performance auto supplier in Florida. Yes, Monster Cable is suing an American automotive manufacturing company in the middle of a recession. Brilliant PR move, don't you think? So yeah, the ban stands -- and we'd recommend steering your friends to any number of cable brands that are just as good, much cheaper, and far less burdened with the stink of desperation than any of Monster's products.Update: Monster Cable's sending out a statement saying "Monster does not have an issue with Monster Transmission" and that the "case was filed last year, before the Monster Mini Golf matter was settled" but it sounds to us like they're playing fast and loose with their timeline to distract people -- we just spoke to Achilles Thomas, one of the owners of Monster Transmission, and he said the initial lawsuit was filed between October and November of 2008 and hasn't come close to settling, even though the Mini Golf case settled in January. Naughty, naughty.Read - Audioholics post on the lawsuitRead - Monster Transmissions
Monster Cable tries to make it better, drops minigolf suit
Behold the power of bad press: Monster Cable last week decided to drop its ridiculous trademark lawsuit against Monster Mini Golf. According to founder Noel Lee, Monster Cable will drop any opposition to the "Monster Mini Golf" trademark, won't require any licensing fees, and it'll also step up and pay Monster Mini Golf's attorney's fees in an effort to make things right. Of course, it wouldn't be Noel Lee if he didn't caveat his actions with some weird martyr nonsense -- are you ready? "I will say that this is a landmark kind of situation, as public opinion wins over what is the right thing to do for trademark protection of a famous mark. We have made the decision that public opinion, and that of our valued customers is more important than the letter of the law that requires us to prevent the dilution of our mark and risk losing it." Yeah, somehow we just don't believe Noel Lee really thinks that Monster is in danger of losing its mark over putt-putt -- a better paranoia would be the fear that consumers will one day realize that Monster's cables and power strips are just overpriced snake oil.[Via TechDirt]
Monster Cable fires 120 employees, still overcharges for accessories
Wouldn't it figure -- the company synonymous for charging absurd amounts of coinage for products that are debatably no better than the copper-laced counterparts available en masse for much less is cutting 120 jobs, only to replace them with outsourced labor. While we fully understand the "business demands of the 21st century," as Mr. Lee so aptly implied, there's something to be said when you're suckering folks into buying cranking out $100 HDMI cables and $70 iPod controllers, yet can't afford to hook your loyal employees up with anything more than "four weeks severance" and a dash of "counseling." What's notable about all this is that prior to this recent batch of layoffs, excessed employees received "four weeks pay plus one additional week of pay per year of service." Furthermore, many employees say the job searching assistance is "worthless," as they really have no desirable skills besides the one's learned at Monster. 'Tis a shame to see the folks let go, but we're fairly certain the firm's (supposed) cash drought isn't due to a lack in markup.[Via CEPro]
