Bogus Vanity Publisher Who Infringed on Marquis Who's Who Trademarks Begins Eight-Year Prison Sentence.

Business Editors/Publishing Writers

NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 1, 2000

-- Company Vows to Protect Prestigious Titles by Pursuing Similar

Legal Actions against Other Publishers --

Bruce Gordon, the former owner of several telemarketing companies that bilked Americans out of millions of dollars by misleading them into believing that they were purchasing listings in the authentic Marquis Who's Who in America(R) biographical directory, has begun serving a 97-month sentence in federal prison for his crimes.

Gordon had operated three Long Island, N.Y.-based telemarketing companies -- Who's Who Worldwide Registry, Who's Who Executive Club and Sterling Who's Who -- through which he sold listings into biographical directories that were simply vanity books. Gordon and his sales team used a range of unfair sales tactics that were designed to make consumers believe they were being selected for inclusion into one of the venerable Marquis Who's Who biographical directories.

Gordon was convicted by a jury in 1998 on 68 out of 69 criminal charges that included mail and wire fraud. Last year, his conviction was upheld by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York and he was denied a new trial. Gordon was sentenced on Jan. 7, 2000, and his prison term began last week.

In addition to the Gordon sentencing, six other telemarketing employees from his previous companies and his former accountant have also been convicted of various related crimes. To date, sentences have ranged from six months to 33 months.

The trademark infringement and illegal sales tactics complaints were initiated in 1992 by Marquis Who's Who, the New Providence, N.J.-based publisher of several prestigious biographical directories. In 1994, Marquis Who's Who prevailed in a federal trial and was awarded $1.6 million in damages, as well as permanent injunctive relief against the Gordon companies' use of infringing names and unfair sales tactics.

One year later, the U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the Marquis Who's Who victory and firmly established its trademark rights to the prominent directory titles.

During the 1995-1997 time frame, federal prosecutors brought several civil actions and criminal indictments against Gordon and his cohorts, leading to the 11-week criminal trial in January of 1998.

"We are gratified by this outcome and hope that the guilty verdicts send a strong message to other `knock-off' publishers that Marquis will certainly not tolerate unauthorized efforts to prey upon the reputation and success of Who's Who in America and our other prominent biographical publications," said Randy Mysel, vice president and publisher of Marquis Who's Who. "Moreover, these types of unfair tactics may lead to severe federal criminal penalties as well."

Mysel also confirmed that the company has concluded more than 20 other policing actions against infringers since 1992 and currently has several other enforcement actions pending against telemarketing boiler rooms and Internet domain name infringers. In addition, he indicated that the company will remain vigilant as to new entrants into the vanity publishing business that seek to trade off of the Marquis Who's Who name.

"By chronicling the lives of influential people over the past century, Who's Who in America has provided a fascinating overview of our nation's history and the people who helped shape it," said Mysel. "Our good name is very important to us and this case should illustrate that we will go to all lengths in order to defend it from unscrupulous publishers who would like to profit off of our hard-earned reputation."

The company recently released the Who's Who in America Millennium Edition in order to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the biographical directory. Since it was launched by Chicago newspaper publisher Albert Nelson Marquis in 1899, this single-source reference book has provided key information about hundreds of thousands of leaders, decision-makers and innovators from every significant field of endeavor.

Continuing a century-long tradition, the Who's Who in America Millennium Edition only includes the names of people who have made names for themselves. The guiding editorial principle continues to be achievement, not simply wealth or celebrity.

Who's Who in America is the original and leading biographical reference volume, used by thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms every day. The Marquis Who's Who family of publications also includes Who's Who in The World(R), Who Was Who in America(R), Who's Who in Finance and Industry(R), Who's Who in American Law(R), Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare(R), Who's Who in Science and Engineering(R), Who's Who of American Women(R) and a number of other regional and topical titles.