{"id":2984,"date":"2008-04-18T06:41:54","date_gmt":"2008-04-18T13:41:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/?p=2984"},"modified":"2008-04-18T06:38:28","modified_gmt":"2008-04-18T13:38:28","slug":"a-pocket-example-of-the-practical-value-of-living-by-abstract-principle-i-do-not-compromise-with-bullies-and-i-would-rather-spend-fifty-thousand-dollars-on-defense-than-give-you-a-dollar-of-unmerit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2984\/a-pocket-example-of-the-practical-value-of-living-by-abstract-principle-i-do-not-compromise-with-bullies-and-i-would-rather-spend-fifty-thousand-dollars-on-defense-than-give-you-a-dollar-of-unmerit\/","title":{"rendered":"The practical value of living by abstract principle: “I do not compromise with bullies and I would rather spend fifty thousand dollars on defense than give you a dollar of unmerited settlement funds.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why is hewing to abstract principle, which is so often derided as being “impractical”, in fact the most practical course of action you can take? Because, when you cave in to bullies — in addition to committing a grievous injustice to your own<\/em> interests — you are telling them in no uncertain terms that you’ll do it again.<\/p>\n

I saw this passionate business letter<\/a> cited at Coyote Blog<\/a> the other day, but it was my friend Richard Nikoley<\/a> who unearthed the gem quoted below.<\/p>\n

I have seen Monster Cable take untenable IP positions in various different scenarios in the past, and am generally familiar with what seems to be Monster Cable’s modus operandi in these matters. I therefore think that it is important that, before closing, I make you aware of a few points.<\/p>\n

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1985, I spent nineteen years in litigation practice, with a focus upon federal litigation involving large damages and complex issues. My first seven years were spent primarily on the defense side, where I developed an intense frustration with insurance carriers who would settle meritless claims for nuisance value when the better long-term view would have been to fight against vexatious litigation as a matter of principle. In plaintiffs’ practice, likewise, I was always a strong advocate of standing upon principle and taking cases all the way to judgment, even when substantial offers of settlement were on the table. I am “uncompromising” in the most literal sense of the word. If Monster Cable proceeds with litigation against me I will pursue the same merits-driven approach; I do not compromise with bullies and I would rather spend fifty thousand dollars on defense than give you a dollar of unmerited settlement funds. As for signing a licensing agreement for intellectual property which I have not infringed: that will not happen, under any circumstances, whether it makes economic sense or not.<\/p>\n

I say this because my observation has been that Monster Cable typically operates in a hit-and-run fashion. Your client threatens litigation, expecting the victim to panic and plead for mercy; and what follows is Read more<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why is hewing to abstract principle, which is so often derided as being “impractical”, in fact the most practical course of action you can take? Because, when you cave in to bullies — in addition to committing a grievous injustice to your own interests — you are telling them in no uncertain terms that you’ll […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,24,29,6,5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2984","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-blogging","7":"category-egoism-in-action","8":"category-group-therapy","9":"category-marketing","10":"category-real-estate","12":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18396,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/18396\/overnight-news-the-fall-of-kabul-a-bad-day-for-the-world-or-a-great-day-for-the-war-party\/","url_meta":{"origin":2984,"position":0},"title":"Overnight News: The Fall of Kabul: A bad day for the world or a great day for The War\u00a0Party?","author":"Greg Swann","date":"August 16, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"To my chagrin, I was for this war, when it started. I believed the bullshit about 'democracy building' and I agreed that you cannot negotiate with bullies until you disabuse them of bullying. I was wrong about America's resolve, obviously, but I was wrong as such in the way that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Group Therapy"","block_context":{"text":"Group Therapy","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/group-therapy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ya think it's easy?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/BHBNewTopImage-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16821,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/16821\/torn-from-todays-headlines-here-there-be-monsters-everywhere-but-why\/","url_meta":{"origin":2984,"position":1},"title":"Torn from today\u2019s headlines? Here there be monsters \u2013 everywhere! \u2013 but why?","author":"Greg Swann","date":"August 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I swear I have sound reasons for talking about Nine Empathies \u2013 specifically the idea of an empathy for the transaction, which could not be closer to any closer\u2019s heart. But today I read Chapter 8 \u2013 Empathy for the monster \u2013 and it whispered to me in ominous tones.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Egoism in Action"","block_context":{"text":"Egoism in Action","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/egoism-in-action\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hasan-almasi-OwqLxCvoVxI-unsplash-480x320.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2689,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2689\/people-who-write-too-much-one-bloodhounds-manifesto\/","url_meta":{"origin":2984,"position":2},"title":"People who write too much: One Bloodhound’s manifesto","author":"Greg Swann","date":"March 1, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Mike Farmer's post on philosophy got me thinking. I knew I had written fairly extensively, fairly recently, on some of the same ideas, but I couldn't remember where. I write a lot, and I don't always remember what gets posted where. What I was thinking of was Todd Carpenter's \"Blogger\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogging"","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11666,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/11666\/i-bet-many-of-the-cool-kids-are-on-the-verge-of-greatness\/","url_meta":{"origin":2984,"position":3},"title":"I Bet Many of the Cool Kids Are On the Verge of Greatness","author":"Jeff Brown","date":"March 29, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I've always loved the Cool Kids (CKs). I've never been a cool kid, but the kinda sorta quasi-cool guy who seemed to think differently, while simultaneously remaining under most folks' radar. I've been the poster boy for Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours principle, which says we don't become excellent at something\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Enduring Interest"","block_context":{"text":"Enduring Interest","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/enduring-interest\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":952,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/952\/its-time-to-take-the-lead-lets-turn-the-lights-on-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":2984,"position":4},"title":"It’s Time To Take The Lead — Let’s Turn The Lights On Now","author":"Jeff Brown","date":"January 29, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Growing up I remember the almost genteel civility practiced by my grandparents and their generation. Topics that today would more likely than not incite harsh tones and words, were discussed, even debated without rancor or a mean spirit. I handle myself with their model in mind. Sometimes my calm demeanor\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogging"","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8243,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/8243\/wanna-help-seo-my-404-centralpalivingcom404flotsalistingleeds\/","url_meta":{"origin":2984,"position":5},"title":"Wanna Help SEO My 404? – CentralPaLiving.Com\/404LotsaListingLeads","author":"Ryan Hartman","date":"May 5, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been sitting on this idea for probably about a year now, and figured Unchained was the appropriate place to let it rip. So for those of you that were there, you know where I'm going with this. If you weren't in Phoenix, please take a minute to visit Centralpaliving.Com\/NoOneElseInYourMarketWillDoThisSoDontWorryAboutSharingItWithTheWorld\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bloodhound SEO"","block_context":{"text":"Bloodhound SEO","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/bloodhound-seo\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2984"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2984\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}