The April Fool's settlement:
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 7, 1999--Business Wire received a
favorable out-of-court
settlement in its federal lawsuit against a company that used Business Wire's distribution
services to publicize a false
investment opportunity, the company announced today.
The lawsuit was filed against individuals purporting to represent a phony company called
''Webnode,'' and covered
the harassment of Business Wire by the company. It also included alleged violations of
federal and state trademark
laws, fraud, breach of contract, and defamation and conspiracy.
The subsequent settlement represents a benchmark event in terms of an Internet
communication taking excessive liberties with false and misleading
news copy.
''We are pleased with the monetary settlement that we obtained, as well as the other
terms of the settlement, which prohibit defendants from engaging
in such activity in the future,'' said Lorry Lokey, president and founder of Business Wire.
''We hope that the positive outcome of this lawsuit sends a clear message that the
conscious decision to disseminate untrue information over Business
Wire will not be tolerated and that serious penalties will be imposed upon the
perpetrators.''
The lawsuit revealed that the three defendants, Jeffrey Mitchell, William Ulrich and
Janice Shell, consciously submitted a false news release to Business
Wire on behalf of ''Webnode.''
The phony news release announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) had
granted Webnode an exclusive contract to raise funding for the
Next Generation Internet (NGI). Although the NGI is a bona fide project, Webnode -
and its supposed contract with the government was revealed as
a sham.
Based on the defendants' assurances that the news release was genuine, Business Wire
distributed the news of Webnode's purported DOE contract
over its wire service and posted it on the BusinessWire.com Web site.
Upon further independent investigation conducted by Business Wire, the company
discovered that the Webnode news release was a hoax and it was
immediately pulled from its wire and was withdrawn from its Web site.
Business Wire also notified recipients of its wire service to disregard the announcement
and demanded that the defendants remove the Business Wire
mark from all copies of the news release, which was posted on Webnode's Web site.
''This case is much like the suit that Bloomberg brought against Gary Hoke and four
other individuals for posting a phony Bloomberg news story on a
Web site about PairGain Technologies, Inc.
''To protect its trademark and its good name, Bloomberg sued those individuals for
trademark infringement, unfair competition and misappropriation,
much like Business Wire's suit against these Webnode individuals. The suit against Hoke
was settled and included a permanent injunction.
''In bringing action against these reckless individuals, Business Wire acted affirmatively
to protect our company's integrity, and more importantly, the
integrity of the information that we deliver to our members. This suit was brought not
only for Business Wire's relief, but for the benefit of all companies
in the communications field,'' concluded Lokey.
About Business Wire
Business Wire is the leading source of news on major U.S. corporations, including
Fortune 1000 and NASDAQ companies. The company
electronically disseminates full-text news releases for public and investor relations
professionals simultaneously to the news media, the Internet, online
services and databases, and the worldwide investment community.
Business Wire is on the cutting edge of communications technology and its Web site
(www.businesswire.com), recognized as the premier newswire
Internet site, is a pioneer in shaping the future of the interactive use of the Internet. The
company has 26 domestic offices and an international hub in
Brussels.
Contact:
Business Wire, San Francisco
Lorry Lokey, President
(800) 227-0845
or
Business Wire, San Francisco
Diana Khim, General Counsel
(800) 227-0845
or
Business Wire, New York
Daniel T. Savio, Public Relations Manager
(800) 752-9600 |
