[nocoiner]

I know how much fun it is to rag on lawyers, but this is pretty much exactly why companies have legal departments.

This should have been referred to the company’s legal department, who could have coordinated the response and/or investigation (if either were warranted), and then decided how to deal with something that sure looks a lot like invoice fraud.

This wasn’t a technical issue or a business issue; as soon as Monotype alleged a license violation, they made it a legal issue, and the lawyers should have been involved from that point on. It makes no sense for some random tech guy to be taking a meeting or handling the response on a licensing dispute.

[stronglikedan]

> companies have legal departments

except that most don't, and the lawyers they can call are much more expensive than their internal employees

[alwa]

And quite likely more expensive than the spurious license fee. Lawyers and businesspeople might pay them to go away, it takes a (self-proclaimed) nerd scorned to go for justice here!

[nocoiner]

I very much doubt it would be more expensive, even for whatever the going rate is for a spray-and-pray license scheme. In a half hour phone call, a decent lawyer can learn the facts and assess this fact pattern and say “this is a fishing expedition, don’t respond, call me back when they send a demand letter (they won’t) or file a lawsuit (they won’t do that either).”

[seg_lol]

Never pay scammers, they rely on your calculus and once they know you pay, just like bullies, they will keep coming back for more blood until you run dry.