So the folks over at FedEx, in addition to lacking any sense of humor whatsoever, have once again provided a cautionary tale of Second-Order Risks being greater than the Risk from the original (perceived) threat.

Case in point is their attempt to force the closure of http://fedexfurniture.com by mis-application of the DMCA. Until their attorneys got involved, the odds I’d ever have even heard of the site (unless it showed up on Boing-Boing) were pretty much zero. Because they did, however, I’m reading about it in Wired:

Most of us have been there. You can just barely afford to pay the rent. But forget about buying furniture — not if you want to eat, anyway.

Jose Avila recently found himself in just that predicament. Although he has a good job as a software developer, he’s locked into two rents after moving to Arizona, and has no extra cash for an Ikea shopping spree. But instead of scouting street corners for a ratty, unwanted couch, Avila got creative and built an apartment full of surprisingly sturdy furniture — out of FedEx shipping boxes.

Fanciful as his creations may seem, FedEx is not amused. The shipping giant’s lawyers have sent Avila letters demanding he take down the site he created to document his project, invoking, among other things, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (.pdf), or DMCA.

Avila has outfitted his entire apartment with FedEx box designs, including a bed, a corner desk with wall shelves, a table, two chairs and a couch. Drawing from architecture and drafting classes he took in college, Avila has designed pieces that are surprisingly un-boxy.

I also got to read about it over at TechDirt or at any of eight or ten other news outlets. I’m also now able to learn more, both about the specifics of this case as well as more on what the DMCA does or doesn’t allow at the Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society, where they are doing a very nice job of demolishing FedEx’s claims.

While I’m not going to be building any furniture out of FedEx boxes, I can say that the next time I need to ship something overnight, I’ll be choosing some other carrier. I don’t like bullies in general and have a particular dislike for corporate legal bullying, whose tactic is based solely on the premise that the target can’t afford to fight back. Instead, I’ll vote with my wallet by choosing an alternative (of which there are plenty) and encourage others to do the same.

So let this be a warning to all of those who would, Cry, “Havoc!” and let loose the Dogs of Law. Many times, things which would otherwise fade rapidly into obscurity, especially in the Attention-Deficit afflicted modern media, become major stories (usually Media Relations disasters) for no other reason than because the corporation turned it into a conflict.

In general, I recommend that Lawyers should only be called out when all reasonable options have failed, especially when the Internet is involved. The problems tend to start when you ask a lawyer what your options are–when your only tool is a hammer, all your problems tend to resemble nails.