Monster Cable still evil, will allow Monster Mini Golf to exist for just $100/month (per franchise)

So as you may remember, back in May Monster Cable pulled one of its sad bully tactics and sued a company called Monster Mini Golf, claiming that the glow-in-the-dark putt-putt outfit was somehow harming its trademarks -- a nonsensical brand of idiotic evil we were so tired of implicitly condoning that we held a vote on whether or not we'd even continue to cover Monster at all. Not surprisingly, 60 percent of you responded in the negative, and we've dutifully ignored the company, its ridiculous cables and overblown power strips ever since -- and, to be honest, we've been fine with it.

Well, it looks like Monster's trying to rehab its image: the company's put up a site today called "Monster Mini Golf Truth" that apparently makes public a proposed settlement agreement between Monster Cable and Monster Mini Golf. As you'd expect from a company as ham-fisted and reflexively nasty as Monster Cable, it's basically another attempt to exert a death grip on the word "Monster." Monster Cable says it's dropping the lawsuit and that the mini golf people can still be called "Monster Mini Golf," but only if they pay a $100 / month license fee and agree that Monster Cable owns the mark outright. In turn, Monster Cable will donate $100 each month to two different charities, including one that gives Segways to disabled veterans. Sure, it sounds nice, but it's notable that Monster Cable is trying to settle this in public rather than in the conference room of a law firm -- Monster Mini Golf stands a fair shot of winning this one in court, and we'd bet they've already turned this offer down privately. We don't know how this one will end, but we do know you probably shouldn't have the CEO of your company saying things like "We're not some big corporate Mongols" in a video designed to sway public opinion. It's after the break, in case you were wondering why the ban on Monster still stands.

Update: As one astute reader's pointed out, Monster Cable is asking for $100 per month, per franchise. With twenty-two franchises, that adds up to $2,200 a month.