• by The Editor , May 19, 2008

An item in the April 4th edition of MediaDailyNews' "Mag Bag" column inaccurately reported that executives and representatives of Entrepreneur Media Inc. (EMI) were hit with a lawsuit that could result in jail time. The item was based on claims made by Scott Smith, president of BizStarz, who filed a case with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, an administrative agency that processes patent and trademark applications, and hears administrative proceedings concerning them, but which does not award monetary damages or impose criminal penalties.

The item also reported Smith's assertions that EMI is intent on preventing anyone from using the "Entrepreneur" name and will sue any company that does, which EMI Corporate Counsel Ronald Young, in a letter to MediaPost, said is "demonstrably false." He said that while EMI has the "legal right and obligation to prevent uses of the 'Entrepreneur' mark that engender consumer confusion," the company does not "attempt to prevent anyone from making non-trademark uses of the word 'Entrepreneur.'"

The item also reported Smith's assertion that EMI misrepresented itself when it applied for the "Entrepreneur Expo" trademark in 1999 as actively producing events under that name. EMI, in fact, had submitted proof in its filing with the trademark office of its use of that mark in commerce. That proof is on file with the trademark office.

The item also incorrectly referred to Smith as an attorney. Smith is not an attorney, according to his sworn statements in depositions related to previous legal proceedings with EMI.

The original item has been removed from MediaPost's archives and its link is now being redirected to this correction.