It's weird to me that big tech hasn't thought about offering a financial reward with C&D's.
"We will pay you $10000 if you C&D" seems like pennies to them, much less than the cost of legal fees, a nice amount of cash for a personal project that hasn't monetized yet.
Or a job
"We will give you a job offer to work on X if you C&D your own work on X"
also seems like a great strategy. If someone has already demonstrated enough talent to be a threat to your company, it seems like it would make full sense to try to hire them.
> Or a job. "We will give you a job offer to work on X if you C&D your own work on X
I'm honestly surprised this doesn't happen more in the gaming industry with companies buying big name mods and hiring the mod writers.
I know a lot of mod writers would probably be opposed because they actually just want to make free stuff, but some would probably launch careers off of it.
Yeah, there are examples of it happening here and there. That's part of why I'm surprised it doesn't happen more. It seems like an easy avenue to hire talented and passionate people who want to work on your thing.
At the risk of violating some rules/conventions here about generated content, I put the question to GPT4 and got some rather reasonable answers. It's enough to convince me not to do what you suggested.
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Offering payment to an individual or entity to cease an activity they should not be engaging in can introduce several disadvantages and potential legal complexities compared to a standard cease and desist letter. Here are some considerations:
- Precedent for Payment: Offering payment for the cessation of an infringing activity could set an unwanted precedent. It suggests that compliance with the law is negotiable and can be bought, potentially encouraging the same or other parties to infringe in the future with the expectation of receiving payment to stop.
- Admission of Weakness: Offering money might be interpreted as a sign that you are not confident in the legal strength of your claim. This could embolden the infringer or weaken your position in any subsequent legal proceedings.
- Contractual Obligation: If the other party accepts the offer, it creates a contractual agreement. If the infringer accepts the payment but continues the activity, or if there's a disagreement over whether the activity has ceased, you may have to engage in contract enforcement rather than straightforward infringement litigation, which could complicate matters.
- Tax and Financial Implications: The payment could have tax implications for both parties and might also affect the financial statements of a company if either party is a business.
- Mitigation of Harm: Paying the infringer doesn't address any harm that has already occurred. A cease and desist letter often includes demands for remedies or damages for past infringement, which would not typically be covered by a simple payment to stop the activity.
- Negotiation Power: Once you've put a monetary offer on the table, it can be difficult to withdraw or reduce that offer without weakening your negotiating position.
- Legal Interpretation: The offer of payment might be interpreted by the court as an acknowledgment that the infringed party is aware that their rights are not clear-cut or may even lack merit, thereby potentially undermining the legal basis for their claim.
- Public Perception: If the offer and its acceptance become public, it might be seen as a company or individual buying their way out of a legal dispute, which could affect public perception or brand reputation.
- Binding Effect: If the offer is accepted, the agreement may prevent you from pursuing legal action for any past infringement, depending on the terms of the agreement.
Good job and totally worth the fee. I'm not even kidding: with minimal effort you now have some things to consider and after that some now reasonably intelligent questions to bring to a real lawyer. You are much further ahead.
"We will pay you $10000 if you C&D" seems like pennies to them, much less than the cost of legal fees, a nice amount of cash for a personal project that hasn't monetized yet.
Or a job
"We will give you a job offer to work on X if you C&D your own work on X"
also seems like a great strategy. If someone has already demonstrated enough talent to be a threat to your company, it seems like it would make full sense to try to hire them.