To: ISOMAN  who wrote (253 ) 4/26/1999 11:38:00 PM From: DSPetry     Read Replies (1)  | Respond to    of 296  
But only because you a famous evil short shaker.  Thats not the only thing she's gonna be famous for... Have fun Janice ;)      Well...well...well....Looks like someones gonna be busy for a while....      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.       Ummmm, and I do beleive that the fun is just beginning, AZNT is going for criminal      charges as well !       Have a nice Day kids ;)      Dave