Even though Monster Cable resolved its trademark legal battle with Monster Mini-Golf in amicable fashion, I recently took my five-year-old daughter, Avery, to one of the franchises just to make sure.
For those who hadn’t heard, Noel Lee, head monster, was involved in direct negotiations with the owners of Monster Mini-Golf, a Providence, R.I.-based mini-golf company with 22 franchises in 11 states.
The golf company submitted for trademarks for the terms “Monster Entertainment,” “Monster,” and “Monster Mini-Golf.” According to Lee, Monster had to sue to protect its trademark in those areas.
The resolution was:
- Monster Cable will pay Monster Mini-Golf’s legal fees
- Each Monster Mini-Golf franchise will pay $100 per month to two charities: the Elf Foundation and Seg4Vets
- Monster Cable will match that donation
Even the owners of Monster Mini-Golf praised Lee for the move.
But was it really over? We decided to secretly find out.
Gumshoes Uncover Truth
When Avery and I arrived at the Webster, Mass. franchise, we immediately became suspicious. The warehouse-looking building is in an industrial park. Could it be a front for manufacturing cable?
Those fears were allayed when we walked inside, where it’s very dark. Nothing but ultraviolet lights. Our clothes immediately illuminated.
We approached two unassuming people behind the counter. I paid for the round of mini-golf, and Avery selected a yellow glow-in-the-dark golf ball for herself and a green one for me.
Now that the employees had been distracted, I thought I would catch them off-guard. “Do you have any HDMI cable available?” I asked.
“Huh?”
“How about some Component cable, or even a flat panel mount?” I asked.
They must have been on to me because all I got was silence.
Avery and I moseyed over to the first hole. That’s when trouble started. On our second putts, I accidentally hit her ball instead of mine. She erupted in despair.
One of the nice Monster Mini-Golf employees came over to investigate (or was he making sure I didn’t expose a secret room that housed cable?). Guess we’ll never know.
The rest of the afternoon proceeded without incident. So from our hands-on investigation, we can conclusively conclude that Monster Cable halted any incursion by Monster Mini-Golf into its trademarked space.
Seriously, CE Pro recognizes the need for companies to protect their trademarks and commends Monster Cable and Monster Mini-Golf for resolving this lawsuit quickly, and helping out charities to boot.
But I can assure you Avery and I will continue to investigate.
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