Monster Cable Products Inc., the makers of Monster cables, have been suing anyone using the word 'monster' in their brand name, product description or in referring to scary creatures. Over the years they have sued almost 200 times in state and federal courts, seeking injunctions against everything from Monster Golf, Disney's Monsters Inc. to the Red Sox using the word monster when referring to the 'Big Green Monster' of the left-field wall.
Along the way they've generated a lot of negative perception, and in some cases bowed to public pressure to abandon what can only be termed frivolous lawsuits.
So here's the question: Is protecting your brand the same as assuming consumers are so clueless they can't tell the difference between indoor golf and audio cables? Perhaps it's time for some trademark reform in the good ol' U.S.A.
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