Last night I read a story on WSJ.com (may require subscription?) about the company, Monster Cables, and their practice of suing anyone who uses the word “Monster” in their business name or product.

In general, I lean toward a company’s right to protect the value of their name. I agree that If the name causes confusion in the marketplace, then that use should be contested.

However it seems Monster’s take on this is We used it first, anyone who wants to be a monster, pay up.

They’ve sued the Red Sox over names related to the “the Green Monster,” the TV show “Monster Garage,” but the one that was featured in the WSJ piece, and shows that this may be more of a revenue generator for them, was their lawsuit over the Rhode Island company Monster Mini Golf.

I chuckled at this one, about a clothing store…

Occasionally, Monster Cable has retreated. After it sued MonsterVintage LLC, an online used-clothing store based in Oregon, owner Victor Petrucci says he drove a rented truck to Monster Cable’s headquarters and around San Francisco for two weeks. It was emblazoned with a giant sign that read in part, “Monster Cable S-.” Monster Cable dropped the lawsuit.

“We have to balance what we do legally to protect our mark with that of public opinion,” says Mr. Lee [Monster Cable's CEO], adding, “We’re very sensitive to our reputation.”

As for the mini-golf drama, the lawsuit was finally dropped, but not before the mini-golf owners, had spent 100k on legal fees before Monster dropped the suit.

Have you used Monster Cables, will you begin/continue to use them, or has this turned you off to them?

Also, if you have used them or other high-end cables, are they a worthwhile purchase?

An article on Ars Technica today covered a new patent by Apple, that could tie its Nike+iPod device to particular pieces of clothing.

If they carry through with it and you have intentions to buy this pedometer on steriods, you could find yourself limited to the shoes you run, jog or walk in. Additionally, it could restrict your choice of any garments, such as head gear, jackets, sweatpants, etc…

There were plenty of comments on Ars, mostly negative, most on how evil Apple is becoming, but maybe not? This could be start of something big.

continue reading "Apple’s new patent could address an ugly problem"

Happy Birthday. I want to share some stats about what’s happened over the year since launch.

First, part of the reason I started this blog was to experiment with search engine optimization (SEO). I started from zero and watched each post rise and dip according to the rules around search, particularly around Google’s algorithm and each page’s Page Rank.

Okay, the numbers (according to Google Analytics)…

continue reading "This blog is one-year old"

Before you think this is a trick headline, written just to get clicks, please read on just a bit more.

We seem to have a serious but totally ignored problem here in the New York/New Jersey area. I’d be surprised if its not just about the same everywhere else in the US. Our State Highway Departments are foolishly wasting barrel after barrel of diesel, gasoline, oil and man hours too, mindlessly clipping the tips off of just sprouted spring grass along miles of highway medians and shoulders.

continue reading "Government Caught Leaving Millions of Dollars Along Roadsides"

China drives tech as US becomes the backseat driver

A report released from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Georgia Tech today link to pdfs, shows that China will soon overtake the US as the driver of high technology innovation. Press release. Anyone following the economy in the last year or two knows that China’s demand for raw materials (high oil prices) has already caused a dramatic shift in our daily lives.

Over the next week or so the government will work out details of a stimulus package to put dollars into the hands of Americans to avoid or delay a recession. When it finally is signed, people should see checks by late spring. I’m not going to debate the value of it here, or justify bailing out those who took risky mortgages. I have no idea, but maybe we can get the stimulus in an oil voucher? or if this report is right, in Chinese Yuan?

Back to the report. The have been studying these high tech indicators since the 80’s. It started as a way to measure what country would become the next Japan. In the last 14 years (93-07) the US has dropped some, but China has gained a HUGE amount. See their chart below.

Today the US has some leverage over China. We innovate and they manufacture. Even with the lost value in knock-off or bootlegged material, we still get value out manufacturing our goods there.

In the near future, they will not only manufacture, but innovate and create new products to sell to us, possibly keeping both slices of pie. China is growing fast and the younger leaders in charge are slowly opening up their economy embracing a more western outlook. I think its too soon to tell what the impact of this inevitable change in the world economy will have for us here in the US.