MIke Arrington doesn't think much of the "sue to get your attention strategy - especially when it's aimed at him:

I called Earthcomber President Jim Brady this morning to verify the lawsuit. At first he wouldn't answer - all he did was try to explain how he's been wronged by Loopt. When pressed he did confirm that the lawsuit was filed, but quickly added that he didn't really mean to press it with us. He wants to go to court with Loopt, but is willing to quickly work something out with us to make this go away, he told me, hinting that he'd like to partner with us. He also said he's been desperately trying to get me on the phone but hasn't been able to, so he decided to sue us instead.

The problem with using a lawsuit as a negotiating tactic is that you can't put the cat back in the bag. The door is open, and it has to play out. In other words, suing someone to get them to return your calls is not exactly a sign of brilliance.

In the age of personal megapohones, I'm not sure that this kind of lawsuit works well anymore. IT all depends on your target, of course - you can still bully smaller entities that don't have much web presence. Even there though, if the right people pick up on the story, it'll explode back at you anyway.

It's a slimy tactic anyway - and companies that use it are probably companies you don't want to do business with anyway.

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