Monster Madness - Monster Cable goes after Monster MiniGolf
Monster Cable, known for their expensive and overpriced audio/video cables have sued Monster MiniGolf for trademark infringement.
Monster MiniGolf is a family startup by Patrick & Christina Vitagliano glow-in-the-dark monster-themed minigolf franchise with 23 locations.
The lawsuit alleges that consumers may not be able to tell the difference between the cable and minigolf stores.
It would seem that Monster Cable has a bout of an evil ego. Do folks really think Monster MiniGolf would be selling video/audio cables at every hole?
Monster Cable has also sued Disney for Monsters, INC, the Boston Red Sox for the "Monster Seats" on the big green monster, and is currently trying to keep them from calling the concession stand "Monster Concessions."
Link (Consumerist.com)
Link (eBay - Monster MiniGolf Coupon)
Link (News10)
Update 12/15/2008
So Monster Cable goes and registers monsterminigolftruth.com linking it to their truth page. It offers to dismiss the lawsuit on the following conditions:
1) MonsterMiniGolf pays $100 per month per franchise to MonsterCable
2) MonsterCable would then donate the $100 per month to The Elf Foundation or Creating Rooms of Magic, or Seg4Vets: Segways for Disabled Veterans
3) MonsterMiniGolf can keep their name
A real olive branch? But it would mean that MonsterMiniGolf would agree that MonsterCable is correct that its trademark is being infringed despite that many customers would know to distinguish an audio/video store and a mini-golf playground.
It would make sense if it were MonsterAudio versus MonsterCable, but really, how can they keep arguing that MonsterMiniGolf would be confusing to their customers.
I even find it stupid for them to go after Monster.com way back, and even trying to sue the Boston Red Sox because of their green monster.
Sorry, you're not getting me on your side.
Comments
Posted by: Pete
Posted on: December 11, 2008 07:59 PM
On Behalf of Noel Lee, the founder of Monster Cable.
I am aware of your concerns regarding the lawsuit that we filed against Monster Mini Golf, a Rhode Island-based company that franchises miniature golf establishments across the U.S. (currently 24 locations). Suffice to say we take this lawsuit very seriously and filed only as a necessary measure to protect our established trademark rights.
Regardless of what false representations have been circulated about Monster, we are not a faceless corporate giant out to squash legitimate business concerns and rising entrepreneurs. We are in fact, a family-owned company that relies heavily on our brand name and reputation in order to continue serving our customers. We have always tried to provide our customers with the highest performance products at an affordable price. While we are best known for our cable products, we also manufacture high performance accessories in business areas ranging in home theater, computing, gaming, portable entertainment and power management. To protect these business areas, we have sought and been awarded trademarks for each respective category. In addition to the areas above, in the past 30 years, we have also expanded the categories including sports and other lifestyle ventures. According to the trademark law, we must enforce our marks or we will lose them and they will become generic.
We were trying our best to avoid the lawsuit, and we are trying our best to settle the lawsuit.
We appreciate your viewpoints and hope you will review the attached documents to fully understand the facts before making judgments against myself or my company.
http://www.monstercable.com/monster_truth
Monsterously,
Noel Lee
nlee@monstercable.com