Brutal

Monster Cable threatens to sue a small competitor for patent infringement. Small competitor turns out to be run by a former lawyer who spent nineteen years in civil litigation, and who hates nuisance claims with a passion. He responds to the threat.

Teensy excerpt from the whole letter, which is available at the link above:

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.

I strongly enjoyed reading the entire thing.

Via Charlie Stross.