ASD.com First Company in Tennessee to Win Anti-Spamming Case; First Judgment and Award Under the Anti-Spamming Statute in Tennessee.

Business Editors/High Tech & Education Writers

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 2000

ASD.com, Inc. announced today that a consent judgment has been entered in its federal lawsuit against Greg Dodson, a St. Louis, Missouri resident who made use of ASD.com's "N2" trademark in connection with unsolicited bulk e-mail advertising, also known as "spam." ASD.com provides an Internet guide, the American School Directory, to virtually all K-12 schools in the United States, including individual web sites for approximately 108,000 schools, providing information, communication and payment tools for teachers, students, parents, local communities and families planning a move. ASD.com provides a free e-mail service, N2Mail, for students, parents and teachers and other users of its American School Directory.

ASD.com filed suit against unknown "John Doe" defendants in November of 1999 to stop the use of its N2Mail e-mail service by spammers who were marketing software and information regarding false identification services. ASD.com issued subpoenas to Internet service providers and identified a mailbox at a Kinko's location in St. Louis used as the drop box for checks from persons who ordered products from the spammer. After investigation and discovery, Dodson was determined to be the origin of the spam and was named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

Dodson agreed to the entry of a consent judgment which includes his agreement not to contest ASD.com's allegations that he violated the Tennessee Anti-Spamming Act, the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, the Federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and the Lanham Act (the federal trademark statute), as well as ASD.com's claims for breach of contract, interference of business relations, conversion and trespass to chattels. The injunction enjoins Dodson from any use of the N2Mail system and the N2 marks. The consent judgment also includes statutory damages under the Tennessee Anti-Spamming Statute of $10,000, plus ASD.com's attorneys' fees.

Tom Crook, chairman of ASD.com, stated that, "ASD.com is gratified that it was able to identify the person sending the spam and to bring his activities to a halt. Unauthorized bulk e-mail is a big problem for Internet-based businesses like ASD.com. It interferes with legitimate use of computer systems, and dealing with complaints caused by spam takes a great deal of time. We hope this case sends a message to other spammers that this use of our business and trademarks will not be tolerated. We hope our pursuit of this matter will deter spam and help other Internet-based businesses as well."

"Spam is a big problem for Internet companies, not just a nuisance for consumers," stated Thor Urness of the Nashville law firm of Boult, Cummings, Conners & Berry, which represented ASD.com in the case. "Tennessee was one of the first states to enact anti-spamming legislation. We are pleased that we were able to make effective use of the statute in this case. It shows that Internet-related legislation can and does work and helps to improve the Internet for everyone."

Tennessee's anti-spamming statute became effective in June of 1999, and this is believed to be the first judgment and award obtained under the statute.

For further information, please contact Tom Wiley at ASD.com, 615/896-3800 or Thor Urness at Boult, Cummings, Conners & Berry, 615/252-2384.