Steve Rubel has a fascinating post about how self-described “Microsoft geek blogger” Robert Scoble helped to defuse a legal brouhaha over the posting of information on the Engadget weblog. Jason Calacanis of Weblogs, Inc. helpfully reprints the cease and desist letter he received from Covington & Burling on behalf of Microsoft.
Mr. Scoble helped cooler heads prevail, but not before Mr. Calacanis asked what every non-lawyer would in this situation:
I wonder how much Microsoft is paying that law firm? Got to be $300-400 an hour, and this has had to take up about five or six hours of their time. So, after a couple of thousand dollars in legal bills we could just solve the problem by talking.
Talking? Where’s the fun and profit in that?