biz.yahoo.com
Monday April 26, 8:01 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Business Wire Files Suit for Fraud and Trademark Violations
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 26, 1999--Business Wire, the leading provider of up-to-the-minute commercial news to editors and the worldwide financial community, today filed a lawsuit in federal court against three perpetrators of a recent online hoax who used Business Wire's press release distribution services to publicize a phony investment opportunity.
The defendants, Jeffrey Mitchell, William Ulrich and Janice Shell, submitted a press release to Business Wire on behalf of a company called ''Webnode'' announcing 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 -- is a sham.
The bogus press release also included a fake solicitation for investments in ''nodes'' on the NGI and directed readers to the Webnode.com website where they could learn more about Webnode and register to invest.
The defendants responded to inquiries about Webnode and collected personal information from nearly 2,000 people who believed, based on information in the phony press release, they had a genuine opportunity to get in on the ground floor of the NGI, the lawsuit alleges.
Based on the Webnode crew's assurances that the press 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 website.
The defendants also posted the phony press release on the Webnode.com website. The defendants' false announcement, with the BUSINESS WIRE trademark prominently displayed on the byline, was made available to millions of readers.
When Business Wire discovered the hoax, it immediately pulled the Webnode announcement from its website and notified recipients of its wire service to disregard the announcement. Business Wire also demanded that the defendants remove the BUSINESS WIRE mark from all copies of the press release.
In response, defendants changed the byline to ''BIDNESS WIRE,'' a name easily confused with Business Wire. The defendants only deleted the byline after repeated demands from the company, and then began making false assertions that the company was itself involved in fraudulent investment schemes, according to the lawsuit.
Business Wire's lawsuit alleges violations of federal and state trademark laws, fraud, breach of contract, defamation and conspiracy and seeks unspecified damages and injunctive relief.
Contact:
Business Wire, New York
Cathy Baron Tamraz, 212/752-9600 |
