Is saying something "sucks" considered slander?

Just got a cease and desist.

[Perfection]

So I just got a cease and desist letter about an older blog post of mine that is sort of a review of a product. Let's call the product "Blah Blah Blah."

The title of this post is: "The Blah Blah Blah Sucks"

The cease and desist I got is telling me I need to rename this post (and it's url which also contains that title).

My question is, do they really have me on something here, or is it my legal right to say their product sucks in this manner?

Thanks in advance.

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

It was a joke guys. Sorry if you didn't get it. ;)

[incrediBILL]

We got it - jokes piled upon jokes

[walkman]

If they suck, they suck. And you are the judge.

Now saying, without proof, that blah product causes cancer is a different story.

[tangor]

Sucks is distinctly American. I believe the Brits use "hoover" to mean the same thing. Not sure that

Google Hovers works the same as Google Sucks (meanwhile, just an example, I'm not saying that Google actually sucks or hoovers. :)

[Sierra_Dad]

Drifting a bit, but I'm always surprised how Fiber One Cereal can claim it doesn't taste like cardboard.

At risk of getting letters from their lawyers, I will state here that it most definitely does taste like cardboard.

But perhaps both of these statements are protected as opinion, since no one has scientific data that will verify the similarity. And if so, then saying something sucks should also qualify.

When it comes to trademark, etc, companysucks.com actually enjoys greater immunity than companyrules.com. I am not a lawyer, but I heard this in a class from a real lawyer.

[Samizdata]

it most definitely does taste like cardboard

I would not claim that people who eat cardboard suck, but I might treat what they say with caution.

...

[johnnie]

I would not claim that people who eat cardboard suck, but I might treat what they say with caution.

...

LOL

[coachm]

First, take it down. It's bad writing, and it won't cost you anything to write more professionally.

Second, you don't have to take it down. The law and precedent is quite clear. You are absolutely permitted to express your opinions provided they are clearly opinions, and not opinions stated as facts. Some phrases are so clearly opinion statements and not factual statements, that they qualify as opinions whether you explicitly state them as such or not and "sucks" is one of them. If a reasonable person understands that the comment is opinion and not presented as fact, you are good.

Take it down or change it, anyway.

[Jane_Doe]

First, take it down. It's bad writing, and it won't cost you anything to write more professionally.

People often read things on the Internet to be entertained. Do you think Jon Stewart, Dave Chapelle and the characters on South Park should speak more professionally? Whether you use a word like sucks or not depends on the target audience of your web site.

I guarantee you that my teenagers would be more apt to read a review with sucks in the title instead of product x "did not fully meet my expectations".

[phranque]

... ..- -.-. -.- ... don't it?

-- .- .--- --- .-. / ... ..- -.-. - .. --- -.

[httpwebwitch]

major suction? LOL

quick, someone add morse to the swear filter!

[anallawalla]

Did you Google this law firm's name and see if they exist or if others are talking about them?

[enigma1]

was the letter registered? If not wait till it is, because it has no better value than an ad flyer