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YELLOW BOOK CALLS FOR RETURN TO COMPETITION IN THE MARKETPLACE, NOT A COURTROOM
UNIONDALE, NY (October 07, 2004) -Yellow Book USA took note with satisfaction that a 15-page decision issued today by Judge Jack B. Weinstein, combined with its own agreement with Verizon Directories Corp., has ended a contentious lawsuit and set the stage for renewed competition where it belongs - in the market, and not in a courtroom.
"We believe it is time to put this litigation behind us and go back to competing in the marketplace, where we remain confident of continued success," said Joseph Walsh, president of Yellow Book USA. "Verizon and all of the Regional Bell Operating Companies have been losing market share for years, long before the humorous Yellow Book ad campaign involved in the current lawsuit ever hit the airwaves, because independent yellow pages publishers have been providing a better product at far lower rates in markets in which we compete."
Yellow Book, in its legal filings, stated at the beginning of this lawsuit last January that there would be no further use of the ads once the campaign had run its course. That commitment has been carried out, and, the court concluded "an injunction is not required."
Although the court found liability based on what it characterized as a "subtle" message with a misleading meaning, the court found that harm to Verizon was merely "possible." After noting that the actual damage in the record was "slight, bordering on the miniscule", it concluded that "no damages have been found." The court added "Attributing loss of Verizon's revenue to false advertising by Yellow Book is also highly problematic since Yellow Book's share of the market had been rising for some years before the start of the advertising campaign at issue." Each party has agreed to bear its own fees and expenses in connection with the matter. Moreover, Judge Weinstein praised the "bona fides" of Joseph Walsh, CEO of Yellow Book, and criticized Verizon for false claims made by Verizon employees about Yellow Book.
Yellow Book also notes with great satisfaction Judge Weinstein's call for "appropriate industry-wide fair standards for surveys" to determine usage levels of yellow pages directories to replace the publisher-controlled proprietary surveys, which he noted "are susceptible to manipulation and misrepresentation by directory publishers for their own advantage." Yellow Book has been calling for just such industry-wide syndicated market research for years. Notably, the court criticized Verizon as well as Yellow Book for their respective usage surveys, noting in the case of Verizon the company's undue influence over the methodology of its Gallup surveys.
Judge Weinstein characterized the outcome of this case as "a socially useful accord that will permit prospective advertisers in, and users of, yellow page directories to determine the value of these important merchandizing tools."
Testimony at the trial showed that the Regional Bell Operating Companies, or RBOCs, which includes Verizon, controlled more than 96 percent of the $14 billion yellow pages market as recently as 1995. Today, the RBOCs' share is less than 85 percent in large part because of fast growth by independents such as Yellow Book in the aftermath of federal legislative and regulatory decisions requiring the RBOCs to share their listings data at an affordable price for the first time.
Established in 1930, Yellow Book USA is the oldest and largest independent yellow pages publisher in the nation. It started as a small company publishing local directories on Long Island and has grown into a company that distributes over 72 million telephone directories in 42 states and the District of Columbia.
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