Lawsuit filed by Montblanc

[Deirdre]

Hi Daniel, those are allegations; the accusations are in the counts.

 

As an aside, if I'd written that Paragraph, I'd rap my own knuckles for imprecision! Ahem.

False designation of origin is generally part of civil counterfeit suits, though, and MB wouldn't be filing a criminal complaint in any case.

 

The other interesting thing is the allegation of competition with Montblanc Simplo. I bought a 144 off Speerbob when he was still in Thailand, and I resold it. By the terms of the lawsuit, I'm guilty of that as well, so that's one reason why I'm taking this personally. (I also bought a 342 off of Savas Ulugtekin and later resold that, but as that was far from recent production, it's likely less arguable.)

Edited December 30, 2008 by Deirdre

[Bananafish]

False designation of origin is generally part of civil counterfeit suits, though, and MB wouldn't be filing a criminal complaint in any case.

 

 

If you put it that way

[memphislawyer]

My dad got sued as he worked in a pawn shop part time and sold a 'Rolex" that they had in stock. Despite any lack of foreknowledge, I am sure he probably knew it was a fake Rolex when he picked it up. As such, he and several people in that shop, as well as in other pawn shops, were sued by Rolex. I was a baby attorney at the time and he was offered to settle for $400. I told him to pay up. Sure, he could have gotten on his high horse and told his boss that he should not have to make a sale of a patently ripped-off counterfeit, or he could have asked that the employer cover his legal expenses, but since Dad knew what a fake Rolex was, he only had himself to blame. He should have passed that customer off to another salesman.

 

Im taking a wait and see view. That is what discovery is for. What did the Defendant know, when did he know it, what did he do, what did he fail to do. There is great money to be made in the underground economy. Just look at Kate Spade knockoffs, Louis Vuitton, Yankees merchandies, the whole Canal Street in NYC, Creed colognes, a number of high-end products (Chanel, Oakley, etc.). Dont think for a minute that these corporations don't deplore how it cuts out their sales at Macy's and then you have TJ Maxx, Marshalls, places like that undercutting that segment of their merchandise even. And this lawsuit was probably vetted a whole bunch, maybe not by marketing, but by inhouse legal, and probably pretty far up the chain of command (unless this sort of case has been done a few times before, in which case maybe lower-level had pre-authorization for a suit).

 

Now, I would think that based on my experience and reading in legal publications, that an initial contact was made by MB to have the sale removed, the photo taken down, some sort of cease-and-desist, especially if this was a one-time occurence. I have not read the docket entries or any of the pleadings, but rest assured that MB probably has alleged enough to get beyond motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim or summary judgment. Now, if the lawsuit was totally baseless and void of facts to support it, Rule 11 sanctions in federal courts can really be applied to the extent that the defense could recover its fees and costs and even a lodestar factor applied to dissuade MB from picking on the 'little guy".

 

Now, the continued purchase by me, or even us, of MB products given this situation is a personal ethical matter. Do you buy products because of their inherent quality, or do you also purchase because of social and environmental concerns? Me, personally, not, but others may. I am not planning on boycotting MB and just hope my 146 pen gets here tonight or tomorrow.

[Deirdre]

The Cromwell case is over (as of 2/5), with a consent decree that leaves Cromwell with the right to repair and refurbish MB pens, and simply enjoins him from violating their trademarks in the future.

 

PDF here.

 

[niksch]

The Cromwell case is over (as of 2/5), with a consent decree that leaves Cromwell with the right to repair and refurbish MB pens, and simply enjoins him from violating their trademarks in the future.

 

So nobody really wins and nobody really loses...except for all of the money Mr Cromwell spent in his defense.

[Deirdre]

The Cromwell case is over (as of 2/5), with a consent decree that leaves Cromwell with the right to repair and refurbish MB pens, and simply enjoins him from violating their trademarks in the future.

 

So nobody really wins and nobody really loses...except for all of the money Mr Cromwell spent in his defense.

This is actually a pretty clear win for Cromwell, though you're right, he's spent a lot in his own defense for which he apparently wasn't compensated. Essentially, it means that MB knew they had no case.

 

Still, though, it meets my requirements: the lawsuit's settled and there was a public settlement. If there was also a private settlement, that's something we wouldn't know about.

[dcande01]

I am now a former MB customer since I recently sold my one MB pen, a Diplomat 149, and will never give them another dime for their "precious resin". Too bad they have decided to take the path they have chosen. I emailed a response back today to an advertising email I got from their North American website a day or two ago and expressed my feelings in clear concise words. I used no foul language but my meaning was clear.

 

I stopped buying MB pens when it became clear to me that they were creating new models for no other purpose than money making. It seems that they were coming out with a new pen every month or so in order to cash in on the collector business. And, IMO, Pelikan is a far superior pen anyway. However, that being said, if I were still using MB pens, I would quit over this lawsuit.

[Blade Runner]

Well, does Pelikan sell pens to make money? And your blanket statement about MB creating models for no other purpose than money making is incorrect. They create epecial edition pens also for charities on a regular basis. Does Pelikan?

 

Best,

Jeen

[Deirdre]

Well, does Pelikan sell pens to make money? And your blanket statement about MB creating models for no other purpose than money making is incorrect. They create epecial edition pens also for charities on a regular basis. Does Pelikan?

I thought it was a poor argument -- of course companies design models to make money (and to keep their workers employed, too). I don't have a problem with that. People tend to get angry when they notice, that's all.

[Blade Runner]

The Cromwell case is over (as of 2/5), with a consent decree that leaves Cromwell with the right to repair and refurbish MB pens, and simply enjoins him from violating their trademarks in the future.

 

So nobody really wins and nobody really loses...except for all of the money Mr Cromwell spent in his defense.

This is actually a pretty clear win for Cromwell, though you're right, he's spent a lot in his own defense for which he apparently wasn't compensated. Essentially, it means that MB knew they had no case.

 

Still, though, it meets my requirements: the lawsuit's settled and there was a public settlement. If there was also a private settlement, that's something we wouldn't know about.

Sounds like there are more enjoingings and retrainings put on Roger than MB from my reading.

Can he still sell altered MB pens just as before without stating they are not MB creations?

 

Best,

Jeen

[Deirdre]

This is actually a pretty clear win for Cromwell, though you're right, he's spent a lot in his own defense for which he apparently wasn't compensated. Essentially, it means that MB knew they had no case.

 

Still, though, it meets my requirements: the lawsuit's settled and there was a public settlement. If there was also a private settlement, that's something we wouldn't know about.

Sounds like there are more enjoingings and retrainings put on Roger than MB from my reading.

Can he still sell altered MB pens just as before without stating they are not MB creations?

Apparently not, but one could argue that he couldn't do that before, either. The precedents set in trademark disparagement cases means that MB probably had a fighting chance on that one aspect.

[FredRydr]

This is actually a pretty clear win for Cromwell.... Essentially, it means that MB knew they had no case.

You can put whatever spin you want on a mutually agreed consent decree, but there is no legitimate grounds or purpose to post such baseless claims.

 

Let it go; Montblanc and the defendant have.

 

Fred

[Deirdre]

This is actually a pretty clear win for Cromwell.... Essentially, it means that MB knew they had no case.

You can put whatever spin you want on a mutually agreed consent decree, but there is no legitimate grounds or purpose to post such baseless claims.

 

Let it go; Montblanc and the defendant have.

It's clearly a win in that it's over early on (relatively for a federal case) and MB folded without obvious gain to themselves. I agree it's over, which was the point behind my updating this post.

[QM2]

Still, though, it meets my requirements:

...

 

It meets your requirements for buying Montblanc pens in the future?

I hope so : )

 

Personally, I am satisfied with the outcome of the lawsuit.

 

QM2

[niksch]

Fred & QM2, I'm not much of a moderator, and not that there needs to be one, but Deirdre is reporting a result, and is not rubbing salt in any wound. She has opinions just like anyone. Regardless of my previous comment, this decision is not a win-win or a lose-lose for all of us. Seems more like a tie.

 

Eric

Edited February 9, 2009 by niksch

[QM2]

Fred & QM2, I'm not much of a moderator, and not that there need to be one, but Deirdre is reporting a result, and is not rubbing salt in any wound. She has opinions just like anyone. Regardless of my previous comment, this decision is not a win-win a lose-lose for all of us. Seems more like a tie.

 

Eric

 

 

Huh?..

 

What I mean is that I entirely agree; just don't see why my previous comment led to this response on your part. I was not critical of anything in Deirdre's post; I was just hoping that her "meets my requirement" comment meant that she will now buy MB pens again.

[mikey]

Does (doesn't) MB have some wording to this effect in their warranty documentation?

 

...Using only authorized inks?...

Edited February 9, 2009 by mikey

[niksch]

Huh?..

 

I must be a victim of my mind's reading of your post. Your words+my warped moron mind=misunderstanding.

 

Yeah, that's right, I'm a victim. NOT.

 

Anyway, you and Fred and Deirdre (and maybe that guy 'talkinghead') all seem to get my attempts at my warped humor/sarcasm, and I just wanted us all to be nice!

 

Eric

[RevAaron]

I stopped buying MB pens when it became clear to me that they were creating new models for no other purpose than money making. It seems that they were coming out with a new pen every month or so in order to cash in on the collector business. And, IMO, Pelikan is a far superior pen anyway.

 

Scandalous! MB makes boatloads of hideous, overpriced LEs produced in small numbers for no reason other than to trick people into thinking they're especially valuable. I honestly can't imagine Omas, Krone, Visconti., Waterman and certainly not Pelikan ever engaging in such behavior!

 

Maybe Pelikan gives away all of its LEs? Like, shareware... for pens?

[Deirdre]

Still, though, it meets my requirements:

...

 

It meets your requirements for buying Montblanc pens in the future?

I hope so : )

 

Personally, I am satisfied with the outcome of the lawsuit.

Yes, it meets my requirements. I'm as satisfied as is possible with the lawsuit having ever existed, which is to say I'm not happy, but it happened and is now resolved to everyone's apparent satisfaction.