Monster Fiercely Protects its Name

<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>An </FONT><A href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/11/08/BUG1J9N3C61.DTL&amp;type=business"><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>article</FONT></A><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2> in the San Francisco Chronicle was brought to our attention today in which Monster Cable is said to have initiated several aggressive lawsuits this year against companies using the word "Monster" in their company or products' name. Among these are the Discovery Channel's "Monster Garage" and "Monster House" and even Fenway Park's "Monster Seats" above left field. Noel Lee of Monster Cable is quoted as saying: "We have an obligation to protect our trademark; otherwise we'd lose it." We thought this article would be of interest to our readers. Here is a short list of some of the more well-known companies affected by Monster Cable lawsuits:</FONT></P>
<UL>
<LI><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Walt Disney Co.'s <EM>Monsters, Inc.</EM> </FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Bally Gaming International Inc.'s Monster Slots. </FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Hansen Beverage Co.'s Monster Energy drink. </FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>The Chicago Bears, whose nickname is "Monsters of the Midway"</FONT></LI></UL>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>[</FONT><A href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/11/08/BUG1J9N3C61.DTL&amp;type=business"><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Read the Article</FONT></A><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>]</FONT></P>
 
toquemon

toquemon

Full Audioholic
This is ridiculous. "Monster" is a word of common use. Here in Mexico you can't registrate a common word as a trademark. For example, you should registrate "Monstercable" as a trademark, but no "Monster" or "Cable".
A lawsuit would proceed only if another company is using the exact word as a trademark, but i don't know in the States how this works.
 
Last edited:
WmAx

WmAx

Audioholic Samurai
I don't like Monster Cable becuase of issues such as the ones discussed in the article. I have to greatly restrain myself, as Monster Cable's tactics upset me a great deal and I am strongly compelled to use profanity when the company is mentioned. :(

To Monster Cable: I will not under any normal circumstances purchase any goods or services that you license or market as long as you resort to such low-life tactics as you currently practice. I will actively recommend alternative brands/products to anyone that shows interest in Monster Cable products if I can do so.

-Chris

hawke said:
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>An </FONT><A href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/11/08/BUG1J9N3C61.DTL&amp;type=business"><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>article</FONT></A><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2> in the San Francisco Chronicle was brought to our attention today in which Monster Cable is said to have initiated several aggressive lawsuits this year against companies using the word "Monster" in their company or products' name. Among these are the Discovery Channel's "Monster Garage" and "Monster House" and even Fenway Park's "Monster Seats" above left field. Noel Lee of Monster Cable is quoted as saying: "We have an obligation to protect our trademark; otherwise we'd lose it." We thought this article would be of interest to our readers. Here is a short list of some of the more well-known companies affected by Monster Cable lawsuits:</FONT></P>
<UL>
<LI><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Walt Disney Co.'s <EM>Monsters, Inc.</EM> </FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Bally Gaming International Inc.'s Monster Slots. </FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Hansen Beverage Co.'s Monster Energy drink. </FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>The Chicago Bears, whose nickname is "Monsters of the Midway"</FONT></LI></UL>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>[</FONT><A href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/11/08/BUG1J9N3C61.DTL&amp;type=business"><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Read the Article</FONT></A><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>]</FONT></P>
 
TjMV3

TjMV3

Full Audioholic
Is it April 1st ...already?

Someone tell me this is a joke, please? :(


Well, they' re added to the "Refuse To Buy Their Product" list.

Unfortunately, they're wiring is in two pairs of my speakers. One pair I have in my house, and another pair that I have ordered.
 
rgriffin25

rgriffin25

Moderator
Oh! My!

This Just IN! Monster Cable is suing Audioholics and each of their users who used their name in a post! Hahaha..I guess we will have to start spelling it like this: m0n5t3r cab!35.
 
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
YIKES :eek: I was just about to start a new site called Monsterholics. Guess its not such a good idea :(
 
S

sjdgpt

Senior Audioholic
Monsters of the Midway is a violation of "their" name?

Let's see, my beloved Chicago Bears, the team of Walter Payton (the finest running back to ever grace the NFL, and a Mississippi boy as well), was known as the Monsters of Midway long before I even thought I liked football, which is about the time I got my first AM radio, and a long, long time before a cable company decided to use the name.

Maybe the NFL should be more aggressive in protecting THEIR team nicknames.
 
L

Leprkon

Audioholic General
if I remember right, the original Monsters of the Midway included D!ck Butkus (we gotta talk about the obscenity censor here, guys), about the same time the Monster cable jerks were being born. I wonder how they figure the Bears used the "Monster" name to sponge anything off their poor excuse for a company....
 
P

psyclobe

Enthusiast
Monster cables are the best cables money can buy.
 
H

hopjohn

Full Audioholic
I wonder if a well known adult site with the use of monster in its name will be sued as well. LOL :D

Fortunately for me I wouldn't buy their products even before this article. Their pricing and corporate incentives are a scam, so this is just more fuel for the fire.
 
Rob Babcock

Rob Babcock

Moderator
The "B{l}ose of Cables" strikes again! :mad: Another reason to dislike those losers.

Hmmm...makes you wonder why Monster & B{l}ose don't team up? The only two audio brands recognized by the masses, no matter how ignorant. You'd think it'd be a match made in marketing heaven (and audio hell! ;) ). Everyone they couldn't convert, they could sue.
 
toquemon said:
A lawsuit would proceed only if another company is using the exact word as a trademark, but i don't know in the States how this works.
In the US if you want to sue someone you can. Whoever has the most money usually wins unless you have a completely ridiculous case.

Spilled hot coffee in your own lap? Lawsuit.
Got shot while breaking into someone's house? Lawsuit.
Operated on someone to save their life and they died? Lawsuit.
Delivered a baby who has a natural birth defect? Lawsuit.

Welcome to America.
 
S

sjdgpt

Senior Audioholic
psyclobe said:
Monster cables are the best cables money can buy.


Really?

I have no doubt the quality of the cables is first rate. I owned a few of them, and they have lasted for years. And in one case, I can honestly say that their video cable was a dramatic improvement over the OEM cable that came with my old Sony Betamax... the connection was extremely tight (and remained tight over time after several disconnections for moving etc), the signal was much cleaner (less noise) and was very noticably sharper than the OEM cable that came with the player.

But the best for the $ ?

I achieved the same result by using a much lower cost cable from Belken when I added a second VCR.
 
TjMV3

TjMV3

Full Audioholic
Monster...........monster........monster




Monster.......big Bad Monster........big Bad Ugly Monster


......monster.....monster.............monster :D
 
Last edited:
Mudcat

Mudcat

Senior Audioholic
I am Noel, you bet I am.
I'll sue whoever I can.

I do not like my company flamed.
I'll sue you just the same.

I'll sue Pixar for Monster's Inc.
I'll sue Mudcat for saying my cables stink.

Mudcat proved my cables can't beat CAT 5.
I'll have his a$$ in court, that's no jive.

I'll sue the da Bears for that Midway junk
I'll sue anybody, I'm in a funk.

The Green Monster at Fenway Park
I'll sue em today, before it gets dark.

I'll sue Krell
I am Noel, what the he!!

I'll sue you when you're on the can.
I'll do it because I'm Noel Lee, I am.

I'll sue you when you're cooking.
I'll do it when you're not looking.

I'll sue you when you're passing gas.
Just because I'm a pain in the a$$.

I'll sue the Giants because attendance is down.
When I'm smiling, not wearing a frown.

I am Noel, you bet I am.
I'll sue whoever I can.
 
Last edited:
Rip Van Woofer

Rip Van Woofer

Audioholic General
The Pull It, Sir Prize for literature goes to (the envelope please)...

[drumroll....]

MUDCAT!

...Sorry, just received word that due to a pending suit from Monster Cables, Mr. Mudcat has been advised by counsel that he cannot appear to accept his prize. Accepting the prize on Mr. Mudcat's behalf is Sasheen Littlefeather...
 
Last edited:
L

Leprkon

Audioholic General
hawke said:
In the US if you want to sue someone you can. Whoever has the most money usually wins unless you have a completely ridiculous case (and believe me they have to be more ridiculous than this for most judges to do the right thing.)

Welcome to America.
the really sad part is, the courts don't punish idiots, so most people find it's cheaper to pay the jerks off than face them in court. If the judges would actually make the whiners (err plaintiffs) pay all costs when they lose absolutely frivolous lawsuits, you would see a lot more people telling Monster to take a flying leap.... :(
 
D

Dan Banquer

Full Audioholic
Monster Cable

The Green Monster at Fenway Park, which is the left field wall, has been around longer than Monster Cable. The Red Sox put in seats just above the Green Monster recently. I say we take some of those Louisville Sluggers to the Monster Cable headquaters, and have a little batting practice. :mad:
d.b.
 
M

Monster Cable

Audiophyte
Monster Cable

Monster Wrongfully Accused: A Note from Noel Lee, CEO of Monster Cable Products.

There have been a lot of rumors, misinformation, and false accusations spread on the web about Monster Cable and its trademark and brand protection efforts. We have been wrongfully accused of suing any company using the “Monster” name, and as being a “corporate bully.”

Anyone who knows our company, or me personally, knows that we are not that kind of company, and I am not that kind of person. The information out there is categorically untrue.

Being a champion of the entrepreneur, and having started Monster in a garage with no money myself, I would be the last person to want to stop someone who had a legitimate right to use a trade name for their business. Those who know me and have met me, know that we have built a fantastic company from nothing through sheer hard work and a lot of sweat equity. You can check out our story at: http://monstercable.com/company_info/ and http://www.monsterparksf.com/info/WhoIsMonster.asp

I have even spoken at several colleges about how to become an entrepreneur, and value these opportunities. In fact, my parents were on one of the last boats out of China during its civil war. I truly have lived the American dream, and I am not going to prevent others from achieving it. I feel fortunate to have been born an American.

Some of the negative press you have read may have started with some newspaper articles that have mistaken information in them, or others who have found this opportunity to spread negative press for their own agendas.

Snow Monsters mistakenly portrayed that our objection to their attempt to register trademarks was a lawsuit, which isn’t true. We have not sued Snow Monsters. We would never try to harm a company whose focus is on ski education programs and products for children.

In fact, Monster is a big supporter of programs for children. You can see what we have recently done with kids at Monster Park. http://www.monsterparksf.com/fun/Photos.asp. The videos with Yomi Agunbiade, director of Recreation and Parks, that is up on our web site shows our compassion for kids at the opening of Monster Park. http://www.monsterparksf.com/fun/Movies.asp?MovieName=MCP04tailgate_12MB

Before you form any negative impressions of my company or how I have directed it, permit me to straighten out some of the misconceptions.

1) We do not have any trademark infringement lawsuits pending, and we do not object or take action against businesses just because they sell products that have “Monster” in their names. If we did, we would never be able to run our business, not to mention the financial burden would crush us. We have better things to do than spend this kind of money and time.

2) There are over 1,100 registered “Monster” trademarks in the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, and probably hundreds more that are unregistered. We don’t have any intention of suing them or taking any action against them. These marks have been allowed by the Trademark Office, just as our 50+ marks in the various classes listed below.

3) We have not sued or filed actions against the hundreds of companies that are using the word Monster. So if anyone is representing this to you, they are not right and should be corrected.

What I think has happened, is people are misinterpreting the U.S. Patent and Trademark office’s database. When you do a search on the USPTO database for Monster, it brings up a bunch of records dating back to 1983; like a Google search does. It appears people are seeing the search results and assuming they are lawsuits. They are not lawsuits. In fact, most of the search results are duplicate listings or merely requests for 60 day extensions (which allow us to do further investigation to see if there are any potential conflicts). The database shows Monster has opposed about 80 trademarks over the last twenty years. That’s about 4 trademark oppositions a year, which isn’t very many for a company that has over 50+ Monster trademarks and is a famous brand.

Don’t just take my word for it, please search the database for yourself.
(Click on the links and you will see the words “Extension of Time” on many of them).
http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?qt=adv&pno=&qs=Monster+Cable+Products,+Inc.&propno=&propnameop=&propname=&pop=&pn=&pop2=&pn2=&cop=&cn=

4) Trademark registrations and trademark oppositions are decided by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, not us. Even if we do object to a particular filing to register a trademark, it is the Trademark office that determines if the business or person filing for the trademark registration is entitled to it, NOT US.

5) Our examination and investigation of businesses filing trademarks with our name Monster is normal processes for any company having a trademark that they want to protect. We know we don't own the word Monster; however like any other trademark holder we do have the right and need to protect our Monster brand when it is in danger of being diluted, tarnished, or infringed.

6) The federal trademark law says that we are required to police our marks and enforce them or we will lose them, or risk weakening them. We didn’t make these rules. Congress and years of Supreme Court rulings have determined the rules of the game. This type of protection is authorized by federal and state statutes (referred to as anti-dilution laws) designed to prevent the weakening of a famous mark's reputation. For more information, you may want to check out: Nolo Press (http://www.nolo.com/lawcenter/ency/article.cfm/ObjectID/E24CD50D-14DE-4364-AC615684D93E6CBE/catID/D8932879-DC34-43DF-BF65FC92D55FEE5D#18C5EF1D-16AD-4F2A-B7EF7D691972BE58)

7) Anyone can use a trademark without having the trademark registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, as long as it doesn’t infringe or dilute someone else’s trademark. This is referred to as a common law trademark. There are many trademarks that exist under common law rights.

In the case of Snow Monsters, we have NEVER sued them, and we are not trying to harm their company. I think that their products are great and don’t cause us any problems, I have written them and told them so. They are also using the word “monster” for characters, not as a brand, which is how we use Monster. Please, see the list of our trademarks below that I have provided for you.

8) I hate frivolous lawsuits as much as the next person, and would never engage in a lawsuit that was frivolous. They are a waste of the public’s money, and the time of the parties involved. In fact, the courts do not allow “frivolous” lawsuits to proceed. The courts have procedural safeguards to eliminate frivolous lawsuits, as well as penalties (like Rule 11) that can be levied against attorneys and parties who bring such suits. We have never been accused by a court of filing frivolous lawsuits.

9) The newspaper articles and other rumors that said we sued the Chicago Bears, Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park, or a Cajun restaurant are all untrue. We have NEVER filed any lawsuits or other actions against them. Don’t just take our word for it, do a search of the court records, and the USPTO database, and we can guarantee that you will find that we have not sued (or even filed trademark oppositions) against these companies.

10) There are millions of Monster fans who love our company and love our products. My passion for the products and unrelenting drive to innovate and create the highest quality products is well known in the industry and with consumers. Where most companies find out how to take quality out of something to reduce costs, we find how we can “improve” products and make them the best of class. That’s why our customers love Monster products.

I am very sad indeed to see misinformation out there as it wrongfully portrays the company to be a corporate bully, when nothing could be further from the truth.

If anyone wants to talk with me about this, or if this email does not answer your questions, please email me at monsterinformation@monstercable.com. Although I may not get back to you immediately since I am currently on travel, I will get back to you.

In the meantime, I ask everyone not to prejudge until you know all of the facts.

Hope this clears things up for you. We merely want to protect the trademarks that it has taken me 25 years of hard work to build.

If anyone else is under a wrong impression about our intention otherwise, please feel free to pass this on.

Monsterously yours,

Noel Lee
The Head Monster

Monster Web Site
http://www.monstercable.com


Here is the list of our registered Monster trademarks. We have many more that are pending registration.

Class 6: Electronic Cables and Wires
Monster Cable

Class 9: Consumer Electronics

Monster
Monster Cable
Monster Power
Monster Music
Monster Batteries
Monster Car Audio
Monster Central
Monster Computer
Monster Internet
Monster Digital
Monster Game
Monster Home Theatre
Monster Lock
Monster Microphone
Monster Mobile
Monster Mounts
Monster Multimedia
Monster Networking
Monster Satellite
Monster Sport
Monster Standard
Monster Tips
Monster USB
Monster Wire America

Class 16: Consumer Electronics
Monster
Monster Connection

Class 18: Leather Bags and Apparel
Monster Design

Class 25: Clothing and Apparel

I Am A Monster
Monster
Monster Attitude
Monster Design
Monster Sport

Class 35: Advertising and Marketing Services
eMonster
iMonster
Monster Bucks
Monsterbook
Monsterguide

Class 41: Entertainment, Educational and Training Services
Monster Music
Monster Style

Class 42: Research and Development Services
Monster Music
Monsterlinks
 
Rob Babcock

Rob Babcock

Moderator
I can assume by this then that Snow Monsters will continue to retain their name in perpetuity with no further harrassment from Monster Cable, and that Monster Cable will make no efforts to obtain money in any way from Snow Monsters for such usage?
 

Latest posts

newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top