Category Archives: Law

A Lawyer Story that Gives Me Hope for the Future

…and sorta makes me want to drink Jack Daniels–in a good way.

Having both sent and received Cease and Desist letters of my own, I can say with confidence that the Jack Daniels folks set a new gold standard with their letter to an author who was very likely infringing their trademark on his book’s jacket.

It’s definitely the nicest (and likely one of the more productive) C&D letters I’ve ever seen. It also relied on a certain amount of courage on the part of the lawyers–they took a chance that the infringing author didn’t mean any ill will or malice, and dealt with him as a result with kindness and respect, instead of the default strategy of treating him like a  malevolent scumbag out to misappropriate the company’s property. It’s a rare move for lawyers to go in with anything less than all guns blazing, and it’d be the greatest of all shames if the author failed to live up to their kindness.

I’m in awe of the Jack Daniels lawyer’s civility and restraint. It’s an uncommon sight in our legalistic world, but one that definitely brightens my day.