Legal fund for Reviewers/Erin?

[welwynnick]

What's the point of independent reviews when the manufacturer insists they're only good reviews?
If these people win, reviews will be of no value to anyone.
There's a moral issue to stand for here.
Count me in.

 

[tomtoo]

They force audio people not to buy them any more. There own fault. Iam NOT sry for them.

 

[markrubin]

I think you should post the review on AVS

 

[Endibol]

I don't know how many of you have been reading the Tekton review thread. But it seems that the company designer/owner has threatened Erin, forcing him to take down his video and written review of one of his speakers. As we all know, Erin's core contributions are measurements of the speaker and what he speaks of, is his subjective opinion. Neither of these is cause for threats of lawsuit and intimidation to take down a review with nary an attempt by the company to show what is in error. The right of a product owner to send what he has bought for testing and publication of the same is one of the most cherished things in my view. I hate to see Erin cave in just because he doesn't have the money to defend his work and injure consumer's rights in the process.

So what you all think about creating a fund to help him?

If you are in favor, someone needs to help setup the fund and let Erin know.

Edit: this is what we are dealing with:

Sure, I would like to donate to support Erin!

 

[johnnyx]

The Institute for Justice could offer free legal advice, even if they don't take the case.

They do great work, supporting people who cannot afford a lawyer.

 

[delta76]

That's how it works as far as I know in Europe or at least in Sweden.
I don't know how it is in the US. More trigger happy for suing in the US? Or is it a prejudice that this is the case?

Tekton speakers are not beautiful. I can agree with that. But tastes are divided, so perhaps there are those who think it looks nice to have speakers with tweeters sprinkled on a baffle so it looks like faceted eyes. Insect speaker approximately.

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Sadly the legal system, in the US at least, allows the rich and the powerful to screw over you by lawsuits. Just like in poker. They hope you will fold before bringing it to court, because lawyers are extremely expensive and if you loose, you risk getting bankrupt, from legal fees alone. This is of course bullying and why Erin needs every help he can get to fight back.

 

[Ze Frog]

Really, well Tekton have really shown their hand here. Any company who threatens to sue because of an honest opinion not sanctioned by them is absolutely deplorable. This just goes to show that a lot of the so called 'reviewers' are indeed at the behest of these companies being it by financial incentives, connection or affiliation with someone at the company, or even the threat of legal action should their review not conform to the manafacturers preferred outcome.

Tekton really messed up here. The review did nothing to damage their reputation, really wasn't that bad at all, why would they effectively take such an action which basically highlights points mentioned above. Now they look extremely disingenuous and also outright aggressive against anything they don't sanction or totally agree with. This also highlights a big issue regarding YouTube 'reviewers' as this draws attention to the fact the whole gig is effectively held ransom by the likes of Tekton and others who throw a hissy fit because someone didn't use all the superlatives they would like or give an award.

 

[Dennis_FL]

Really, well Tekton have really shown their hand here. Any company who threatens to sue because of an honest opinion not sanctioned by them is absolutely deplorable. This just goes to show that a lot of the so called 'reviewers' are indeed at the behest of these companies being it by financial incentives, connection or affiliation with someone at the company, or even the threat of legal action should their review not conform to the manafacturers preferred outcome.

Tekton really messed up here. The review did nothing to damage their reputation, really wasn't that bad at all, why would they effectively take such an action which basically highlights points mentioned above. Now they look extremely disingenuous and also outright aggressive against anything they don't sanction or totally agree with. This also highlights a big issue regarding YouTube 'reviewers' as this draws attention to the fact the whole gig is effectively held ransom by the likes of Tekton and others who throw a hissy fit because someone didn't use all the superlatives they would like or give an award.

Ever hear of the Streisand Effect? Tekton is bringing attention to themselves and maybe would be better off doing nothing.

 

[Ze Frog]

Ever hear of the Streisand Effect? Tekton is bringing attention to themselves and maybe would be better off doing nothing.

Yeah, they certainly would have been. I thought the review showed the speaker in a good light really and dispelled concerns potential customer may have had regarding multiple tweeters. Seems like Tekton has shot themselves in the foot here.

 

[usersky]

The review was way more positive than I expected from that cluster of tweeters. I expected tons of LSD-like artefacts on some frequecies by the slightest head movement.
Threat to sue Erin seems to me as stupid as drilling holes for the feets all the way inside the box. And to fully prove their point, they took down the product page on their web site. Trust instilling or what. At least one can count on Tekton to be consistent... OTOH I wonder if the subjective part of the revised review will be biased. After all that adventure I'd listen way more critically just not to miss some possible resonances, from the fear of being sued of course.

 

[holbob]

This Tekton guy is 3 tweeters short of a nest.

Maybe Erin should put up the new review with just the graphs rotating for 20 minutes solid and no comment from Erin. Then the guy would have to sue Erin and Klippel.

 

[usersky]

Maybe Erin should put up the new review with just the graphs rotating for 20 minutes solid and no comment from Erin. Then the guy would have to sue Erin and Klippel.

Indeed suing Klippel would be the most logical next step. I hope Tekton's lawyers are here with us

 

[Ze Frog]

Indeed suing Klippel would be the most logical next step. I hope Tekton's lawyers are here with us

Lol, why stop there... maybe companies could start suing the customers who buy it but don't like it. Sounds ridiculous and something comical right now, but that's where we are heading.

 

[D!sco]

What’s so funny about this takedown is that Erin’s review gave me a better impression of tekton than I wanted to give them at a glance. The compromises became clear and the tone seemed acceptable. Price notwithstanding, I was finally interested in their theories. Now they can hang.

 

[Ajax]

Good on you Amir for showing solidarity with a fellow reviewer.

I have often worried about just this sort of thing happening to you as you have always been forthright in both your measurements and subjective analysis and to the best of my knowledge have shown no favours.

The service you and Erin provide to the audio industry is invaluable and there is a great need for you both to continue to ensure audio consumers are protected from those manufacturers that lack scruples .... $20k amplifiers, $3k cables etc ...

I'm in.

 

[BDWoody]

I need to point out that I don't represent anyone involved, nor am I offering anyone specific advice. I will say that the truth is as close to an absolute defense to libel as you can get. It would be an uphill battle for the supposedly injured party to prove damages against Erin that stem from statements that were in willful or even reckless disregard for the truth. The measurements don't lie, and so long as Erin didn't stray too far from his normal tests and commentary, it shouldn't be an issue.

Being in the right doesn't matter if you don't have the funds to defend yourself.

There isn't much that's more terrifying to a small business owner than the prospect of a significant lawsuit. I've been through two of them, and watching 5 figure legal bills show up month after month after month is hard to describe.

 

[Ze Frog]

What’s so funny about this takedown is that Erin’s review gave me a better impression of tekton than I wanted to give them at a glance. The compromises became clear and the tone seemed acceptable. Price notwithstanding, I was finally interested in their theories. Now they can hang.

Yeah, same here. I was actually quite surprised.

I think I know what there argument is going to be, and it's pretty pathetic that anyone could have discovered and especially anyone that has done D.I.Y speaker building for arrays... and that's the tweeters being at different outputs shown in the graph. That's the only logical explanation really for legal grounds I can see, and even then it's not a secret or something that's patented. Seems like part swipe at honesty and part stupidity thinking they have pioneered a specific multi tweeter setup, but these people are so delusional because they all hang in circles bigging eachother up and making eachother feel special.

 

[MbphotoX]

Most reviewers these days only release positive reviews.. because the manufacturers will stop sending them shit to review if they release negative reviews.

They (according to several former reviewers on Head-Fi) commonly get the offer of keeping the stuff in return for an "honest review". But if they write a negative review, the offers of stuff simply don't come anymore.

In this case, I'm not even sure if Erin was at fault here. Sounds like a dude with a blown-up ego being mad about something not looking perfect in a review..
Horrible speaker design and unwilling to communicate with one of the highly regarded reviewers.. that's on you, Tekton!

Now, is that threat of legal action something to be taken seriously?! I don't think so.

 

[gpauk]

I may have missed it, skimming this thread, but has Erin published what he was actually sent? If he got a letter from a lawyer, there is no reason I can think of not to publish it here.

 

[SIY]

Obviously, IANAL, but I've been involved in a LOT of litigation over the years, including with the highly litigious Monster Cable. A couple people have mentioned some very pertinent things.

1. Has there been a cease and desist or other written communication from a lawyer? If not, this is pretty overblown. So full stop. This is just butthurt and whining.
2. Assuming there has been a written communication from a lawyer, is Erin's review stuff a business? If so, he will have insurance and if there is an actual legal threat, they need to be brought in immediately.
3. And as part of the expense of running a business, it would seem prudent to spend a thousand or so to get a shark to write a nasty response pointing out the legal peril that a threatened suit will put the plaintiff in. That will usually end things pretty quickly. See, for example, that famous response to Monster Cable from the lawyer running a cable company (was it Blue Jeans?).