12-09-2008, 08:01 PM
I will take a slice of what Silencio is serving.
Tort reform usually refers to personal injury cases: cases where someone sues another person/business for an injury, like a car accident. There are other kinds of "torts" but PI cases predominant. This case would be referred to as "intellectual property" case, and so not considered a tort. I don't know much about IP law, but one potential problem (not offering this as an excuse though), is that in order preserve a copyright you have to defend it. So Monster may reasonably fear dilution of its copyright.
You may be referring to legal reform more generally. The "American" rule is that you pay for your own attorney, regardless of who wins. A fee shifting system, in which the loser pays, is a serious disincentive to lawsuits, so in theory would significantly reduce these kinds of cases.
Tort reform usually refers to personal injury cases: cases where someone sues another person/business for an injury, like a car accident. There are other kinds of "torts" but PI cases predominant. This case would be referred to as "intellectual property" case, and so not considered a tort. I don't know much about IP law, but one potential problem (not offering this as an excuse though), is that in order preserve a copyright you have to defend it. So Monster may reasonably fear dilution of its copyright.
You may be referring to legal reform more generally. The "American" rule is that you pay for your own attorney, regardless of who wins. A fee shifting system, in which the loser pays, is a serious disincentive to lawsuits, so in theory would significantly reduce these kinds of cases.