In Cyberspace, everyone can hear your lawyers scream

by Jon on May 1, 2008

I mentioned yesterday how Marvel was threatening to sue TechCrunch over their Iron Man screening. It looks like it’s all over–there is a post from Marvel’s attorney on the TechCrunch blog, displaying a hip and self-deprecating way to back down in style.

I was concerned for Marvel. I don’t care for their legal strategy, but I’m a lifelong fan of the Marvel universe, and I was worried they were setting out on one of those backbiting, anti-fan crusades that can haunt you for years. There’s a huge risk anytime you take legal action in cyberspace that you’ll cause far more damage to yourself through negative PR than you’ll ever gain through your the courts–just consider RIAA’s ongoing self-inflicted smear campaign, or last year’s attempt to suppress the AACS encryption key used on HD-DVD players.

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