I’m not going to chime in on the big Monster Cable debate — I’ll leave that to the real audiophiles to fight out — but it’s nice to see Monster suing a mini-golf park into submission for riding on their amazing brand recognition. What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the name Monster Mini Golf of Warwick, Rhode Island. HDMI cables, right?
Monster Mini Golf was founded by Christina Vitagliano and her husband four years ago. The indoor glow-in-the-dark golf concept has spawned 22 franchises across the country.
The couple said they will not be bullied by the cable products company and that they have no intention of changing the name.
“It’s a little out of hand right now. It just needs to stop. I would say pick on somebody your own size, but I don’t think they should be picking on anybody,” Vitagliano said.
According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and court records, Monster Cable has gone after several other notable monsters, including The Walt Disney Co. for its hit film “Monsters, Inc.,” Bally Gaming for its Monster slots, the Chicago Bears for their nickname “Monsters of the Midway” and even Fenway Park for using the “green monster” wall.
According to published reports, in most cases Monster Cable has been able to work out a settlement or nominal licensing agreement.
So if sales dry up due to improved wireless audio they can always sue-sue-sue their way into the sunset. Then again, Monster Mini Golf also calls itself the “Millennium Falcon of mini golf,” which could confuse those who need a starship that can do the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs and instead find themselves staring at a Skee-ball machine.
(via AOL)