Entrepreneur Magazine Facing New Claims of Trademark Fraud, Jail a Possibility

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) May 23, 2008 -- MediaDailyNews

Mag Bag: Entrepreneur Execs
Threatened with Jail Time
by Erik Sass, Friday, Apr 4, 2008 7:45 AM ET

Entrepreneur Execs Threatened with Jail Time

Martha Stewart did some time for misleading a grand jury, and Conrad Black is serving a considerably longer sentence for mail fraud, but you can also go the slammer for trademark fraud, as the publishers of Entrepreneur may find out in the near future. Entrepreneur Media Inc. was hit this week with a lawsuit alleging that EMI defrauded the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office while wrangling for control of the name "Entrepreneur Expo."

With events and expos one of the fastest-growing and most lucrative areas of business-to-business media, it's not surprising that both sides consider this a high-stakes issue. After a decade out of the event business, with no expos produced since the mid-1990s, Entrepreneur is intent on preventing anyone else from using the name. It has said it will sue any company that does.

The only catch: according to [entrepreneur] Scott Smith, the president of BizStarz, a PR firm representing small businesses, EMI deceived the Federal trademark authority while filing to trademark the name Entrepreneur Expo in 1999 by saying it was currently producing events under that name. In fact, it hadn't done so for several years. If Smith can prove his case in court, Entrepreneur execs and the attorneys who filed for the trademark in 1999 could face fines, jail time and millions in damages owed to event planners whose work they disrupted.

MediaPost Communications welcomes and appreciates forwarding of its newsletters in their entirety or in part with proper attribution.
(c) 2008 MediaPost Communications, 1140 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10001

###

brand name bullies     Entrepreneur magazine     entrepreneurs     Fraud     lawsuit     small business     trademarks