Just to let everyone know: I've contacted the owner of the company, Christina Vitagliano, and offered my support. I think it's very clear that she's in the right here, and what's very encouraging is that she sounds like a real fighter. This isn't someone who's going to quietly sign a licensing agreement and never be heard from again; I expect a brouhaha.
By the way, over on Engadget HD, in the comments to the news item on this story, there's a post which quotes what is purported to be (I assume it is, but for defamation purposes one can never be too careful) a message from David Tognotti, Monster Cable's house counsel, on the subject of the Monster Mini Golf debacle. Of all things, he's trying to make it out that Ms. Vitagliano's Monster Mini Golf is a big east-coast company (well, she's in Providence, RI, so she is "east coast." As for big--well, she sounds like a great person and I hope her company gets very big indeed, but it's clearly no vast corporate behemoth -- I would say "Monster" if I wouldn't get sued -- today.).
May I make a suggestion to those who are outraged over this? Monster Cable has no doubt received a lot of hostile e-mail from customers and ex-customers over these things, but it clearly hasn't done any good. Consider, when you sit down to write an e-mail, writing to Best Buy or Circuit City to ask them why they carry this product line and to ask them to pass along your feelings to Monster Cable. Retail product placement is the sine qua non of Monster Cable Company; that retail placement translates into sales dollars on a grand scale.
Kurt
Blue Jeans Cable
