BoingBoing gets a heavy-handed letter from Baker & McKenzie

The London office of Baker & McKenzie LLP apparently thought it necessary to send the editors of the popular BoingBoing weblog a warning letter — yes, a warning letter, even more obnoxious than an unmerited cease-and-desist — letting the editors know that Baker would be "actively monitoring your website ... to identify unlawful activity...." The "unlawful activity" they had in mind: any reproduction of media that would infringe on the rights of a company that must be (I'm guessing) the distributor of World Cup footage.

Did Baker & McKenzie send this letter to every website that has a high-traffic reputation? BoingBoing's editors, as they point out in their post, couldn't care less about the World Cup or professional sports in general (as anyone familiar with the site would know). Did the solicitors of Baker & McKenzie know that their letter would itself be posted on BoingBoing for its 1.75 million daily visitors to see and ridicule? They should have. What on earth were they thinking? I doubt that this tactic helps them or their client be taken more seriously; in fact, I'd guess that it has the opposite effect.

(Via Kevin O'Keefe.)