In the spirit of conciliation and frankly, because it's really not that big of a deal, I think we're in agreement in the important areas - that Monster's cables, while good, are priced higher than their quality, and that is itself a worthwhile reason to explore other options and come to one's own conclusions on whether you need Monster to have good sound. The selling tactics are another issue, one which I have been lucky enough not to experience firsthand... Cutting to the core, I don't buy Monster products
mostly because of price. I certainly don't "boycott" them. But when I have an option, I buy from someone else. I have a few of their products, though, and they do a nice job. Mostly I kick myself because I could have gotten a product of equal quality a product for less moolah, though. Their purported litigation tactics, which I was unwise enough to bring up in the first place for several reasons (including keeping some hearsay percolating at the surface), were just icing on the cake for me to generally avoid them.
As to the intellectual property matters at hand, I'll only say this, just as a technical matter, and honestly not to try and fuel further debate.
But you've named a couple of instances where Monster expressed concern or wrote letters regarding the movie monsters, inc. etc. I don't think you'll be able to find any court papers regarding a lawsuit against Pixar or Disney in this regard. If you can, I will stand humbly corrected, and rethink my view on the topic.
I did overstep my bounds by stating that actual litigation commenced. I'm sure, without looking up any court records, that no papers were filed, at least in these instances. However, that's not to say the effect is not as present. Litigation-threatening letters aren't part of the public record, and can be powerful tools (trust me, I say this from experience). Almost always, some kind of no-record-is-made settlement is reached, and it is in no way publicized. A little money changes hands, and either the purported infringer can carry on - as some kind of licensee - or ceases to use the name.
We can't know if this happened in the context of Monster and, for example, Disney and Pixar, though certainly the rumors abound! Do I know that such things have happened? Well, I've certainly never touched any original, authenticated documents, so no, I don't. I have read a number of independently sourced, consistent reports which suggest that it has, though it is unquestionably all hearsay. And that's all it is for the time being.
Right. So...how're you enjoying your Axioms, then?
