Dear Palo Alto Networks: There is no way I would have watched that video if you hadn't demanded it be taken down. Now having watched it I can see why you want to hide it.
Palo Alto Networks sends cease-and-desist letter to take down review videos
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Re: Palo Alto Networks sends cease-and-desist letter to take down review videos
#32Dear Palo Alto Networks: There is no way I would have watched that video if you hadn't demanded it be taken down. Now having watched it I can see why you want to hide it.
Typical case of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect
Re: Palo Alto Networks sends cease-and-desist letter to take down review videos
#33A review seems like a textbook case of fair use to me. Not sure where there’s a justification for removing a review in this situation.
Because of a legal precedent and a general fact about contract law:
1. Installation and/or execution of software constitutes copying (the "RAM Copy Doctrine") which is only lawful if the person currently using the software has been licensed or sold the software
2. Licensing restrictions can restrict license holders from exercising rights they otherwise would have as a matter of law
There is nothing prohibiting you from only licensing your software out under terms that prohibit licensees from exercising fair use or first sale rights. Indeed, this is one of Oracle's main "innovations": ever since Larry Ellison failed to get David DeWitt fired for daring to benchmark Oracle, they just made everyone who buys Oracle promise not to benchmark it. This is legally sound and the only way around it is to argue that the software transaction was actually a sale and not a license - as far as I'm aware, though, nobody has been able to successfully articulate such a claim.
Re: Palo Alto Networks sends cease-and-desist letter to take down review videos
#34Lawyers sending letters to discourage actions they do not like are fairly standard. I've had attorneys tell me that if you are not getting letters like this, you aren't making enough of an impact. And to be clear, this is just a letter - tossing one of these out just to see if it works is an easy tactic because many smaller organizations are terrified of litigation, and will cave to demands even if there is no legal…
Most likely than not, they have legal basis for what they are asking for. Check with your lawyers and if they agree, you should just accept and move on. The distraction (and cost) of having to fight a legal battle to have a comparison page on your website is just not worth it for most startups. We are a tiny company building an open-source alternative to an existing SaaS app and we have received two such letters in t…
We checked VERY thoroughly.
They don't have legal basis. Federal law specifically prohibit clauses that prevent open reviews. It is dubbed the 'yelp law'
Re: Palo Alto Networks sends cease-and-desist letter to take down review videos
#35Thats a silly lawyer move, but I also kind of understand where PA is coming from - the FW space is a crowded, reputation driven world and a lot of classic late 00s companies are struggling to adapt to a less hardware centric space.
That said, build better products, don't take down crappy reviews. I've had terrific experiences with my PA FW's and Panorama isn't too shabby as far as centralized mgmt solutions go - I'd hate to see them throw away all the good will they've built up with stupid choices like this.
Re: Palo Alto Networks sends cease-and-desist letter to take down review videos
#36A review seems like a textbook case of fair use to me. Not sure where there’s a justification for removing a review in this situation.
Because of a legal precedent and a general fact about contract law: 1. Installation and/or execution of software constitutes copying (the "RAM Copy Doctrine") which is only lawful if the person currently using the software has been licensed or sold the software 2. Licensing restrictions can restrict license holders from exercising rights they otherwise would have as a matter of law There is nothing prohibiting you fr…
Just google 'yelp law'. It isn't legal these days.
Re: Palo Alto Networks sends cease-and-desist letter to take down review videos
#37>In enacting the Consumer Review Fairness Act, Congress has also prohibited businesses from including contract terms that prohibit consumers from reviewing products or services they purchase.
[IANAL] if that is true i wonder whether PA Networks exposes itself to counter suit as i think i know at least one similar (in my layman view) case where inclusion and enforcement of a contract provision violating a specific consumer law protection provision was a ground for successful class action. In such a case one doesn't even need to actually fight the legal battle themselves, just show it to lawyers with time to spare, and even just mentioning such possibility may be enough on its own.
Re: Palo Alto Networks sends cease-and-desist letter to take down review videos
#38At this point in the game, how could anyone ever think that this was a good idea? Palo Alto Networks is already on my blacklist because of how badly their products perform in production. This makes it hard for me to ever consider them again, since it's clear that they are trying to purge negative information about their product from my view.
Re: Palo Alto Networks sends cease-and-desist letter to take down review videos
#39Lawyers sending letters to discourage actions they do not like are fairly standard. I've had attorneys tell me that if you are not getting letters like this, you aren't making enough of an impact. And to be clear, this is just a letter - tossing one of these out just to see if it works is an easy tactic because many smaller organizations are terrified of litigation, and will cave to demands even if there is no legal…
Legality isn't my concern. It's intent.
Their intent is to prevent their customers and potential customers from hearing criticisms of their products.
That alone is enough to make me never do business with them again. Legality means nothing, this was a breach of ethics and honesty.
Re: Palo Alto Networks sends cease-and-desist letter to take down review videos
#40Thats a silly lawyer move, but I also kind of understand where PA is coming from - the FW space is a crowded, reputation driven world and a lot of classic late 00s companies are struggling to adapt to a less hardware centric space. That said, build better products, don't take down crappy reviews. I've had terrific experiences with my PA FW's and Panorama isn't too shabby as far as centralized mgmt solutions go - I'd…
It's not just about the reviews. People make careers out of reviewing products. Legal complaints can lead to people be demonetized or deplatformed entirely.
For PA to risk ruining other people's careers (for being honest!) just to artificially inflate the reputation of their own crappy product isn't something I can forgive very easily.