Fanny Wang Monster Lawsuit Ends with a Whimper

[admin]

It seems ages ago that we reported on Monster Cable suing Fanny Wang over their headphones which had a passing similarity to their Beats by Dr. Dre. The lawsuit has been going on for more than a year but the process, which began by a lawsuit filed in December of 2010 by Beats Electronics, LLC and Monster Cable Products Inc. (Beats by Dr. Dre) against Fanny Wang Headphone Co, has come to an end. The suit, which we felt was extremely frivolous, was based on a design patent, not any proprietary technology, and accused Fanny Wang of infringing on US Design Patent D552,077. Last week, the lawsuit was settled by both parties. Of highest note, there was apparently no award assigned and neither of the two headphones companies paid the other any money.

Discuss "Fanny Wang Monster Lawsuit Ends with a Whimper" here. Read the article.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Great, thanks for the update. Needed one.
I wonder if the monster has learned anything from this. I doubt it.

 

[timoteo]

Monster.....learn a lesson?.....I wish!!

Im not a hater of Monster products, but do my best not to buy their stuff anymore. Ive learned not to be suckered into their prices now.

Anyways!....my wife & i both think that the 2 headphones, in the picture, in question dont look anything alike! Yes they have similar styling & of course one of them played a bit off the other but come on. How many car companies make their cars look like another, higher-end brands model to sell. Its been done for years & will continue to take place in all sorts of industries. If its not an identical copy then you dont have a foot to stand on to go to court. Stop b!tching Monster!!

BTW the competitors headphones look way better anyways! Probably sound better too!!!

 

[jamie2112]

People STILL buy munster??????

 

[sholling]

It's funny what you can trademark, style, color schemes etc. A good example is power tools. Each of the big manufacturers has trademarked their corporate colors and anyone producing a competing product in the same color as an established player is going to get sued.

 

[Knucklehead90]

Monster must have a huge lawyer staff. Lawsuits aren't cheap so I suppose they need to keep em busy.

When are we going to pass a law in this country to help prevent frivolous lawsuits? Put the burden of proof on the one suing. Must be because we have lawyers running this country - congress - the president etc are almost always from a lawyering background. Can't pass laws that would hamper our ability to <strike>screw</strike> sue each other at the drop of a hat - eh?

 

[mtrycrafts]

It's funny what you can trademark, style, color schemes etc. A good example is power tools. Each of the big manufacturers has trademarked their corporate colors and anyone producing a competing product in the same color as an established player is going to get sued.

I wonder how much color difference before being on safe ground?

 

[sholling]

I wonder how much color difference before being on safe ground?

No telling. I only remember the lawsuits against Chinese imports with similar colors because I worked for B&D at the time.

 

[SCOTTR]

I have decided I will not ever by another Monster product of ANY kind if I can help it!!!! I am actually tempted to toss all my monster interconnects. I got em back when I was stupid...Anyone want a power center?