S/O Do you buy from a company that is being sued?

This is going to sound strange considering how strongly I feel about the companies who are suing others, but I don’t think people should be pressured one way or another. You should be able to buy what you want from whatever company you want.

Many crafters probably haven’t even heard about these two lawsuits. Those who spend more time on message boards tend to be the ones who are aware of the lawsuits, the ugliness of MSP, etc. Those who are on only now and then can easily miss topics that are discussed.

Whether you are aware of the lawsuits, or concerned about them (or not), you have the right to spend your money the way you want. You won’t get any criticism from me.

I does make me more inclined to want to buy from the companies being targeted, though.

Back when I lived 7 minutes from the LSS, and 20 minutes from a stamp store, sometimes I just liked and wanted some of the stamps that SU and CTMH offered. You can access their catalogs online if you want to see what they have.

Recently, some cards on Pinterest caught my eye. They used SU products, so I looked up the catalog online, checked their site to find a rep, and placed an order for the first time in years.

My current favorite company is Heartfelt Creations because I love their stamps for making 3D flowers. I buy from them online 4 to 6 times a year. The mail carrier delivers their products to me.

I got my SU products by mail, too. I’ve never even met the SU rep.

For that matter, I can get just about any company’s products by ordering online. Before I moved to Texas, I almost never ordered online. The SU and CTMH reps were my friends. Now there is no LSS or stamp store within a reasonable distance of me, so it’s my only decent option now, other than the 3 conventions that come every year to the DFW area. Those are worth making the drive to shop.

I tend to avoid the suing company, but it depends on the lawsuit.

If someone invents something truly original, then someone else came out with a blatant copy, I would side with the actual inventor if he/she tried to sue.  That is not how I see either the MSP or Sizzix lawsuits.

What MSP did was tweak a letterpress. It was not a truly original invention. I didn’t blame her for suing the company that came out with a blatant copy, especially since the only difference was a change of color. The Tim Holtz platform and the SU platform were at least as different from the MISTI as it was from the original letterpress. So why should she be able to patent her tweaked design, but not Tim or SU? She also acted ugly as all get out to people like Don, who made his own version for his own personal use, not to sell.  She has used the courts to stomp out all competition. More on that in a minute.

Spellbinders invented the thin dies but lost the patent due to inaccurate info on the application. Tons of companies were then allowed to make thin dies until Sizzix realized that they could make one small tweak and apply for the patent. Like MSP, they are using the courts to try to get rid of their competition.

Both are guilty of bullying tactics. Both have benefitted from an inconsistent application of patent law and/or inappropriate use of the court system.

At the very least, using the courts to get rid of the competition seems a gross misuse of the court system IMO.  Too many people in the US try to use the courts to essentially win the legal lottery. It’s wrong. Sometimes, when a judge decides that a lawsuit is inappropriate, civil penalties may be levied, and those financial penalties can be huge.

I hope that both MSP and Sizzix lose in the courts, and that they get hit with significant financial civil penalties, or at least enough to make them far less inclined to sue again.