05-15-2008, 01:59 PM
by Jennifer Monroe
WILMINGTON, DE ââ¬â (OfficialWire) ââ¬â 05/10/08 -- Amazon ImagesBack in 1999ââ¬âAmazon.com, Inc.ââ¬âa fledgling start-up founded by Jeff Bezos set its sights at conquering the world, by hook or crook and in this case by lying. Bezos, who some have described as a "business genius", fancied the name "Amazon" for his planned online bookstore. He'd discovered a 'real-world' bookstore during his travels in Minneapolisââ¬âAmazon Bookstoreââ¬âthat was founded in 1970, but armed with sacks of shareholder cash and some gay-baiting tactics, Bezos thought he could muscle the name from under the feminist co-operative.
In pre-trial depositions lawyers for Bezos interrogated a co-owner of the store under oath about her sexual orientation and that of her staff. Articles where planted, 'friendly media', like those who received tens of millions of dollars in advertising revenue from Bezos' company obligedââ¬âthe resultââ¬âa lesbian smear campaign designed to intimidate witnesses and to play to a future jury's presumed homophobia. It worked.
Barb Wieser, on behalf of the co-operative Amazon Bookstore [read: original Amazon Bookstore] settled, granting Bezos rights to the name he had simply usurped, but the settlement the bookstore received from Amazon.com shareholders was not a huge one, and, according to Wieser, "Like in a lot of these cases, much of the settlement went to pay attorney's fees."
Also in 1999, a lawsuit was filed by Bezos' company, in Greece, against the operators of a Greek-language-only website, Amazon Greece. Attempts by Bezos to obtain an injunction against the company in the regional court located in Syros had failed. Despite numerous lies about actual sales (in Greece), disputed operational methods and purported offers to sell the Hellenic business to the U.S. company (then calling itself an "Internet giant"), Bezos was simply unable to convince the judge in Syros that his case possessed any merit.
Never one to allow the truth to interfere with his plan for Internet domination, Bezos instructed his lawyers to pursue litigation in the United Statesââ¬âfiling in the U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware. With a file full of false claims of U.S.-book sales, further untrue statements of a potential sale of Amazon Greece to Bezos' company and another series of unseemly smear tactics, Bezos, bent on building a name for himself, even if on the back of other people's efforts, would stop at nothing to achieve his goal.
Fast forward 7 years and a month and Bezos appears up to his old unsavory tactics again. Mayside, Inc., publisher of OfficialWire, and a book publisher, attempted to update its bank account details with the online goliath (humor them, it helps; I am told that for an easy life, McKenzie tells the founder of Amazon.com how big he is quite often). In this case, Amazon refused (by email), referring to a 7-year-old default order and judgment entered against two defunct companies and two individuals as justification for their refusal.
As a result of that email, written by David A. Zapolsky (VP & Associate General Counsel for Amazon.com, Inc.), two of the defendants of Amazon's Delaware lawsuit became aware, for the first time, that a judgment had been entered against them by the court in Wilmington. Interestingly, or rather, oddly, Zapolsky never thought to contact either of these two people seeking to recover an alleged debt he now says is worth more than $200,000 and growing daily with interest.
Now that two of the defendants are aware of what happened without their knowledge, back in April 2001, a Motion has been filed with the U.S. District Court in the District of Delaware to have the original Order and Judgment set aside. A Hearing will be set in the near future and if successful, Bezos' lies may soon unravel, correcting 7 years' of untruth.
More to follow.
http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=65770&catid=23
WILMINGTON, DE ââ¬â (OfficialWire) ââ¬â 05/10/08 -- Amazon ImagesBack in 1999ââ¬âAmazon.com, Inc.ââ¬âa fledgling start-up founded by Jeff Bezos set its sights at conquering the world, by hook or crook and in this case by lying. Bezos, who some have described as a "business genius", fancied the name "Amazon" for his planned online bookstore. He'd discovered a 'real-world' bookstore during his travels in Minneapolisââ¬âAmazon Bookstoreââ¬âthat was founded in 1970, but armed with sacks of shareholder cash and some gay-baiting tactics, Bezos thought he could muscle the name from under the feminist co-operative.
In pre-trial depositions lawyers for Bezos interrogated a co-owner of the store under oath about her sexual orientation and that of her staff. Articles where planted, 'friendly media', like those who received tens of millions of dollars in advertising revenue from Bezos' company obligedââ¬âthe resultââ¬âa lesbian smear campaign designed to intimidate witnesses and to play to a future jury's presumed homophobia. It worked.
Barb Wieser, on behalf of the co-operative Amazon Bookstore [read: original Amazon Bookstore] settled, granting Bezos rights to the name he had simply usurped, but the settlement the bookstore received from Amazon.com shareholders was not a huge one, and, according to Wieser, "Like in a lot of these cases, much of the settlement went to pay attorney's fees."
Also in 1999, a lawsuit was filed by Bezos' company, in Greece, against the operators of a Greek-language-only website, Amazon Greece. Attempts by Bezos to obtain an injunction against the company in the regional court located in Syros had failed. Despite numerous lies about actual sales (in Greece), disputed operational methods and purported offers to sell the Hellenic business to the U.S. company (then calling itself an "Internet giant"), Bezos was simply unable to convince the judge in Syros that his case possessed any merit.
Never one to allow the truth to interfere with his plan for Internet domination, Bezos instructed his lawyers to pursue litigation in the United Statesââ¬âfiling in the U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware. With a file full of false claims of U.S.-book sales, further untrue statements of a potential sale of Amazon Greece to Bezos' company and another series of unseemly smear tactics, Bezos, bent on building a name for himself, even if on the back of other people's efforts, would stop at nothing to achieve his goal.
Fast forward 7 years and a month and Bezos appears up to his old unsavory tactics again. Mayside, Inc., publisher of OfficialWire, and a book publisher, attempted to update its bank account details with the online goliath (humor them, it helps; I am told that for an easy life, McKenzie tells the founder of Amazon.com how big he is quite often). In this case, Amazon refused (by email), referring to a 7-year-old default order and judgment entered against two defunct companies and two individuals as justification for their refusal.
As a result of that email, written by David A. Zapolsky (VP & Associate General Counsel for Amazon.com, Inc.), two of the defendants of Amazon's Delaware lawsuit became aware, for the first time, that a judgment had been entered against them by the court in Wilmington. Interestingly, or rather, oddly, Zapolsky never thought to contact either of these two people seeking to recover an alleged debt he now says is worth more than $200,000 and growing daily with interest.
Now that two of the defendants are aware of what happened without their knowledge, back in April 2001, a Motion has been filed with the U.S. District Court in the District of Delaware to have the original Order and Judgment set aside. A Hearing will be set in the near future and if successful, Bezos' lies may soon unravel, correcting 7 years' of untruth.
More to follow.
http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=65770&catid=23