Has an OEM Ever Threatened / Taken Legal Action Over Measurements?

[knobtwiddler]

Just curious.... There is a get-together next weekend where people will bring along various boutique analogue products to be tested on an AP. One OEM is threatening legal action if its results are published anywhere. This cannot be a new precedent? No one is scared btw. I just wonder about precedents?

 

[Jinjuku]

Just curious.... There is a get-together next weekend where people will bring along various boutique analogue products to be tested on an AP. One OEM is threatening legal action if its results are published anywhere. This cannot be a new precedent? No one is scared btw. I just wonder about precedents?

Whos the OEM? Was the threat written or verbal? Are you under an NDA? Publish with an anonymous account at a forum that is not in their country.

That should take care of it

There most likely precedent and from what I recall, Consumer Reports, does this all the time and they aren't in court constantly.

Bose
In 1971, Bose Corporation sued Consumer Reports (CR) for libel after CR reported in a review that the sound from the system it reviewed "tended to wander about the room".[65] The case eventually reached the United States Supreme Court, which affirmed in Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc. that CR's statement was made without actual malice and therefore was not libelous.[66][67][68]

And that was just an opinion, not a measurement.

 

[Koeitje]

On what grounds are they prohibiting publishing data?

 

[knobtwiddler]

At this point I am not going to stir up a Hornets nest and mention the name. It is not a hifi brand (once was, but the trademark got sold to a new owner - who is doing the threatening here). Their problem is that it is a lose-lose situation for them. If their item isn't tested, the organiser can deliberately empty-chair them and make the threats public (unlikely to impress potential buyers on any level). Alternatively, they can dispute the results. This would be unlikely to work in their favour, as you could simply retest the device on array of different analysers. I don't think they are having a PR coup here.

 

[SIY]

Threats are easy. I've been threatened many times. If this is commercial kit that has been purchased, rather than something evaluated under an NDA, you can do as you like within the bounds of truthfulness.

Publish, and if you get into difficulty, PM me and I'll hook you up with a 1A attorney who will shred them.

 

[knobtwiddler]

Thanks.

I don't think the MD at this OEM is 100% together in the head. He also sent a legal letter to my friend, who worked at the original firm before he got the trademark. My friend is in his 9th decade and sells items that he got from the liquidator for pocket money. This stuff would otherwise get dumped.

 

[knobtwiddler]

Oh yeah - BOSE is notoriously litigious. Interesting, when you consider the rumoured origins of the 901 / 802 concept...

 

[SIY]

He also sent a legal letter to my friend...

I have a collection of them. They make nice wall decorations.

Now THIS guy is a badass.

 

[Timbo2]

I have a collection of them. They make nice wall decorations.

Now THIS guy is a badass.

Which made this all the sweeter!

A Monster fall: How the company behind Beats lost its way

 

[Xulonn]

Monster cable, after a 95% fall in sales, has transitioned from manufacturing to a branding products - just like Donald Trump's company: Pay me the big bucks and you can use my famous name...

 

[BDWoody]

Thanks.

I don't think the MD at this OEM is 100% together in the head. He also sent a legal letter to my friend, who worked at the original firm before he got the trademark. My friend is in his 9th decade and sells items that he got from the liquidator for pocket money. This stuff would otherwise get dumped.

Some less honest/more aggressive types count on a 'nasty lawyer letter' to dissuade what someone has every right to do.
As has been stated, as long as you aren't under some kind of NDA, you are on solid ground.
It's a Bully tactic.

 

[Jinjuku]

I fired a client 2 years ago. Gave them 30 days to find another vendor then we were disabling their license. They had their attorney call I just laughed at him over the phone and sent him a copy of the EULA and asked if he was licensed to practice in Ohio.

Don't worry about any threats or letters.