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Microcap & Penny Stocks : HITSGALORE.COM (HITT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bob sims who wrote (1812)	6/7/1999 2:29:00 PM
From: Q.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7056

next post: new dirt on Dorian Reed -- Better Business Bureau complained about Reed in 1996. We all know about Reed's business "Internet Business Broadcasting" which got Reed into legal trouble with the FTC in 1998. This story is earlier: Before it was called "Internet Business Broadcasting", Reed called his business "Internet Business Bureau". The Better Business Bureau (BBB) complained that Reed was infringing their trademark. The full story is in the next page. There's a lot of irony in this, because of course IBB ripped people off, which is the sort of thing that the BBB tries to stop.

To: bob sims who wrote (1812)	6/7/1999 2:30:00 PM
From: Janice Shell	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7056

Beg pardon? Can you tell us something substantive about these new directors?

To: bob sims who wrote (1812)	6/7/1999 2:32:00 PM
From: Q.	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 7056

HEADLINE: BBB URGES BUSINESSES TO ADHERE TO ETHICAL PRACTICES IN THE ON-LINE MARKETPLACE Copyright 1996 PR Newswire Association, Inc. PR Newswire March 25, 1996, Monday SECTION: Financial News DISTRIBUTION: TO BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY EDITORS LENGTH: 741 words BODY: The Council of Better Business Bureaus announced it is urging businesses to adhere to ethical advertising and selling practices in the on-line marketplace. The Council is the umbrella organization for the nation's 137 Better Business Bureaus (BBBs). "The consumer marketplace is poised for a revolutionary expansion as a result of new opportunities presented by electronic commerce. The BBB urges companies and entrepreneurs that do business on-line to adhere to ethical marketplace practices. Only with consumer confidence can the vast potential of the Internet as a trustworthy, convenient and expedient place to do business be fully realized," said James Bast, president and CEO of the Council. The Better Business Bureau offers its traditional guidelines, which have proven to be very successful for businesses and entrepreneurs advertising or selling products and services in any medium, for use in the new "cyber" marketplace: -- Provide the physical location (address and phone number) of your company so that consumers can check on your reliability with outside organizations, like the BBB and consumer agencies; -- Refrain from using advertisements which are untrue, misleading, deceptive, fraudulent, falsely disparaging of competitors, or make insincere offers to sell; -- Adhere to the basic principles embodied in the BBB Code of Advertising; -- Comply with local, state and federal laws and regulations governing advertising and sales practices; -- Refrain from using words in a company name which would mislead the public either directly or by implication; and -- Refrain from unauthorized use of company names and logos. "The issue of name and logo protection in cyberspace is as crucial to the consumer as it is to the companies involved," Bast said. "Practitioners who attempt to trade upon the good reputation of established brand names could destroy customer expectations of fair dealings in the electronic marketplace." The Council recently reached an agreement with an organization that advertised on-line under the name Internet Business Bureau (IBB). The IBB advertised consumer protection and business reliability reporting services that purported to be virtually identical to services provided by the Council and by Better Business Bureaus. "We demanded that the company cease infringement of our trademarks. By using a mark confusingly similar to the Better Business Bureau's, the organization was likely to confuse the public and jeopardize the BBB's long-held reputation as the source of high caliber consumer protection services," Bast said. The company agreed to change its name to Internet Business Broadcasting, Inc. and to cease holding itself out as providing consumer protection services or screening advertisers in the future. Internet "search engines" have been notified of the name change. "The primary responsibility for truthful and non-deceptive advertising rests with the advertiser. That's true in any medium it uses," Bast said. Businesses, entrepreneurs, and consumers seeking information about ethical marketplace practices can contact the Better Business Bureau or use the BBB World Wide Web Server, located on the Internet at bbb.org. The BBB Code of Advertising, publications for businesses and consumers, scam and fraud alerts, and BBB program and services information are available through the BBB Web Server. The BBB provides complaint-resolution assistance on-line and "off-line" to consumers and businesses. The Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) is the umbrella organization for 137 Better Business Bureaus (BBBs) across the U.S. Through the national memberships of more than 350 leading edge companies and the network of member BBBs, the Council promotes the highest ethical relationship between businesses and the public through voluntary self-regulation, consumer and business education, and service excellence. /EDITORS' ADVISORY: The full text of this and other CBBB press releases are available in the "What's New" section of the BBB World Wide Web Server, located on the following Internet address: bbb.org ./