Appellate Court Hands Momentous Victory to TriMax Over Wickfire

DALLAS, March 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — After seven years of litigation, TriMax has triumphed over Wickfire.

On February 26, 2021, an Appellate Court issued a paramount ruling that Wickfire lacked any evidence to support its claims against TriMax. The decision was made in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Case Number 17–3043040. The Appellate Court's ruling reversed all monetary damages previously awarded to Wickfire.

The lawsuit, originally before the Western District of Texas, Case No. 14–CV–34, centered around Google AdWords Auctions, an online–auction platform where companies like TriMax and Wickfire compete for advertising space. Wickfire asserted innumerable claims against TriMax, but as to each one, Wickfire ultimately failed:

  • Wickfire alleged TriMax intentionally interfered with Wickfire's contracts, intentionally interfered with Wickfire's prospective business, and committed civil conspiracy. The Appellate Court, however, disagreed fully, finding "Wickfire offered no such proof" and declaring that each of these claims failed "as a matter of law."
  • Wickfire also alleged TriMax violated trademark law under the Lanham Act. The jury, however, awarded Wickfire no damages on the claim. Furthermore, the Appellate Court found Wickfire not to be the "prevailing party" on that claim, and in doing so, rejected Wickfire's improper attempt to seek attorneys' fees under the trademark statute.
  • Finally, Wickfire brought claims against TriMax for injury to business reputation, business disparagement, defamation, unfair competition, and misappropriation. However, Wickfire retracted each of those claims before the trial, and therefore, these claims did not even reach the appellate level.

TriMax filed its successful appeal in the wake of a lower court's judgment, in which the court erroneously awarded $2.3 million to Wickfire. Because Wickfire lacked any evidence whatsoever to support its claims, the Appellate Court reversed the judgment, overturned the award, and ordered the trial court to issue a new judgment. Based on the Appellate Court decision, the new judgment should award Wickfire nothing.

In the same lawsuit, the jury previously found Wickfire LLC and its co–owners, Chet Hall and Jon Brown, to have intentionally interfered with TriMax Media's business. TriMax argued that Wickfire intentionally interfered with TriMax's contracts by (1) paying kickbacks to merchant representatives in exchange for exclusivity agreements; (2) impersonating TriMax by placing unauthorized ads that plagiarized TriMax's ad copy and contained other identifying information of TriMax; (3) repeatedly clicking on TriMax ads in order to artificially increase TriMax's costs (known as "click fraud"); and (4) using an automated software program to manipulate the Google auction system (known as "bid jamming").

TriMax presented evidence to the jury that Wickfire had been suspended from over 200 Google accounts, violated merchant terms, and employed fake user agents and proxies to conceal its identity. The jury also saw evidence that Google referred to Wickfire as "Known Fraudsters" and that Wickfire registered the domain name "GoogleClickFraud.com".

TriMax also presented evidence regarding Wickfire's destruction of evidence. TriMax learned that during the litigation, Wickfire wiped all the data from its Chief Technology Officer Jon Brown's laptop and then failed to disclose that information to TriMax or the court. Once TriMax uncovered the destruction, Wickfire claimed it was necessary, since the laptop had been stolen during a home burglary. However, the police report""which TriMax obtained independently after Wickfire failed to produce a copy""contradicted Wickfire's story because it mentioned nothing about an allegedly stolen laptop.

While the jury heard extensive evidence about Wickfire's conduct comprising Wickfire's intentional interference against TriMax (which the jury found to have occurred), some of the most devastating evidence was excluded. For example, the jury was not permitted to see:

  • The police report from the burglary;
  • Registration documents showing Wickfire as the owner of "BitchesOfFacebook.com" and "PokeBitches.com";
  • An e–mail from a merchant representative who, after refusing to accept the alleged kickbacks, referred to Wickfire as "criminals";
  • Screenshots of Wickfire's ads impersonating TriMax's;
  • An e–mail from a merchant terminating TriMax after wrongly believing TriMax was the source of the impersonating ads;
  • An e–mail from a merchant complaining that Wickfire violated trademark terms and plagiarized TriMax's ads;
  • A lengthy technical report that, according to a world–renowned computer expert, proves conclusively that Wickfire committed extensive click fraud against TriMax;
  • A real–time video demonstrating the bid–jamming TriMax experienced;
  • A summary of hundreds of TriMax's merchant contracts interfered with by bid–jamming; and
  • E–mails from other competitors of Wickfire complaining about Wickfire's bidding tactics.

Despite the jury's finding against Wickfire, Chet Hall and Jon Brown for intentional interference with TriMax's business, no damages against Wickfire were awarded. The Appellate Court's ruling, however, did not disturb the jury's finding that Wickfire, Hall, and Brown committed the intentional interference in the first place.

The Appellate Court's ruling was comprised of a 21–page opinion, unanimously decided by three Circuit Judges and authored by Chief Judge Priscilla Owen of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Representing TriMax were attorneys Sidney K. Powell of the law firm of Sidney Powell PC and Barry M. Golden of the law firm of Egan Nelson LLP.

  • Ms. Powell was formerly an Assistant United States Attorney and is author of the groundbreaking book Licensed to Lie, an expos on unethical attorney conduct and improper concealment of evidence. Ms. Powell is known most recently for representing General Michael Flynn, filing third–party election lawsuits, and launching a Super PAC dedicated to a range of aims, including freedom of speech, Constitutional rights, and the right of free and fair elections.
  • Mr. Golden is a litigator and the Co–Chair of Egan Nelson's Commercial Litigation Group. Throughout his 23–year career spanning four decades, Mr. Golden has regularly handled high–stakes litigation, often including bet–the–company matters.

TriMax's CEO, Laura Woodruff, commented: "After so many years of litigation, TriMax has received complete exoneration. We are thrilled but certainly unsurprised by the outcome. We only hope this ruling will prevent Wickfire from bringing any more baseless claims against a legitimate competitor. We do, however, remain disappointed that Google and the Networks allowed Wickfire to intentionally interfere with our business in the first place. Nevertheless, based on the jury's finding that Wickfire interfered with TriMax's business""a finding that was not reversed""we now hope tactics like kickbacks, impersonation of competitors, click fraud, and bid jamming will no longer be tolerated in the online–advertising industry."

About TriMax Media:

Founded in 2003, TriMax Media is a digital marketing agency specializing in performance–based search engine marketing. TriMax served on the first Google Advertiser Research Council and was one of the first companies to generate over one million leads for its clients utilizing Google AdWords. The agency focuses on creating highly effective search marketing campaigns and developing successful long–term relationships with its clients.

Company Contact:
For questions, please contact:
Barry M. Golden
Egan Nelson LLP
214.893.9034
barry.golden@egannelson.com


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Informa Markets Drives Economic Recovery with Safe and Successful Return to the Show Floor

ORLANDO, Fla., March 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As industries and economies around the world look for opportunities to rebuild business in the wake of the COVID–19 pandemic, Informa Markets, a global organizer who creates platforms for a wide range of industries to trade, connect and grow, launched MAGIC Pop–Up Orlando from February 9–11 at the Orange County Convention Center. The "Pop–Up', a smaller scale regional version of their keystone fashion event which typically takes place twice–yearly in Las Vegas, Nevada was a comprehensive "one–stop–shop' opportunity for various segments of the fashion industry, one of the many industries hit hard by the pandemic's devastating economic impact, to discover new brands, safely network with like–minded retailers, and generate much–needed revenue.

Informa Markets Fashion, the platform organizers' aptly–named portfolio of menswear, womenswear, footwear and apparel sourcing platforms, surveyed customers in late 2020 to identify how best to fulfill the needs of the fashion community. The answer was a resounding desire from both brands and retailers alike to return to the show floor in Q1 2021, a critical buying time for the fashion industry. In response, Informa Markets moved forward with a hybrid approach, launching an online marketplace, MAGIC Digital, alongside a physical event in Orlando. While Informa Markets believe strongly in the virtual format as a powerful complementary tool and a long–term twin engine for their 450+ brands, interest in the physical event exceeded their expectations""recording an astounding 40% more registrations than anticipated for the Orlando show.

"The fashion industry is a very tactile one," said Kelly Helfman, Commercial President, Informa Markets Fashion. "Buyers need to see and feel fabrics. While digital is an incredible tool to maintain connectivity, and help qualify buying trends, the power of face–to–face will always be important""in–person interactions are really not replicable in a digital format. While data can help guide decision making, qualifying suppliers with potential customers isn't just a one–click experience""it requires deep understanding and relationship building in most cases. The past year has proven more than ever the true value of human connection, and we've seen that reflected by the enthusiasm for, and success of, this event."

MAGIC Pop Up Orlando featured a diverse array of up–and–coming designers and larger more established brands eager to connect with big box, online, specialty and boutique retailers, with the collective goal of reinvigorating the hard–hit fashion industry.

"We love MAGIC and are so happy to be back here," said Hanna Jung from By Together, a fashion wholesaler. "We have met so many new, diverse customers here in Orlando. The buyers were ecstatic that MAGIC came back into the market with this Pop–Up event."

But fashion is not the only sector eager to return to the show floor""it's a trend Informa Markets is seeing across the many sectors it serves. In May, Informa Markets will host a platform for the aviation industry, also in search of a channel for learning, innovation and discovery that reaches beyond the screen. And in June, the organizer plans to return to Las Vegas, home to many of the country's largest trade events, in response to similar enthusiasm from communities ranging from construction to cosmetics to recycling & waste.

"Our events are platforms to re–build and re–invigorate industries," said Nancy Walsh, President, North America, Informa Markets. "They serve a really important role in relationship building, in discovering innovation, and in revenue–driving for the communities they serve, especially when done in a safe and controlled way. That's not just the Fashion community that this event served, but communities spanning across Health & Nutrition, Brand Licensing, Construction, Aviation, and more. Almost every industry has been impacted by the pandemic, and our customers, many of whom are small business owners, truly believe these platforms are more critical than ever before."

These platforms' impacts, however, are not solely on their facilitation of growth and development of industry sectors. They also provide significant regional economic opportunity. The trade show industry is estimated to contribute $2.24 billion in annual economic value to the city of Las Vegas alone, and a 2018 study showed that globally tradeshows bring an average of 303 million visitors to host cities each year, supporting 1.3 million jobs and generating $136.9 billion in business sales. The pandemic's impact on those working in the tourism and hospitality industry has been devastating, and trade shows support local economies, driving revenue to hotels, convention centers, and local businesses representing waiters, cooks, security providers, drivers, artists, printers, photographers, carpenters, laborers and more. In Orlando, the co–located event provided an estimated $15.35 million in economic value to the city over the course of just 3 days.

"We are honored to have played a role in successfully hosting MAGIC Pop–Up Orlando. We are committed to keeping employees, guests and attendees healthy and safe at all events hosted at the OCCC, and we are thrilled to collaborate with organizers like MAGIC who share our commitment to safety," said Mark Tester, Executive Director, Orange County Convention Center. "I experienced firsthand how dedicated the MAGIC Pop–Up Orlando team was to implementing measures to create a safe and controlled gathering, and we worked closely together to achieve that common goal."

While industries and local economies are eagerly looking for opportunities to recover, safety remains a core foundational element of Informa Markets' return to the show floor. Informa helped spearhead an industry–wide approach to safety at trade events, known as the All Secure Standard, which provides guidelines to ensure safety is prioritized at all trade events. The Standard was a collaborative effort that has been adopted across the majority of global trade show organizers with the support of events industry associations and key partners, and has been objectively vetted by a team of medical experts. At MAGIC Pop–Up Orlando those guidelines came to life through open concept booths, widened aisles, 100+ hand sanitizing units and safety ambassadors, as well as mandatory mask–wearing, temperature screenings, and most notably, evidence of a negative COVID–19 test to enter the show floor""the first show of its kind to employ onsite testing in support of visitor safety.

In the weeks after enhanced safety measures, including testing, were announced, MAGIC Orlando registrations soared, signaling that communities are eager to return to the show floor, when both their safety and success are prioritized. While a testing requirement may not be necessary moving forward, Informa Markets sees a continued effort toward targeting qualified audiences and rigorous safety measures as a dual engine in driving economic recovery, not just for the trade show industry, but for the industries and communities they serve and the cities that host their events.

"I think it's powerful that as an industry we have committed to the All Secure guidelines to ensure that we are approaching health and safety with the same rigor," said Kevin Thornton, VP, Operations at Informa Markets. "Now, more than ever, it's important for our industry to work together to prove that we can return to the show floor and that our communities can re–connect in secure ways. Testing may be an important piece of that, but long–term I think the value is really in our shared commitment to events that consistently value safety. Through our collective efforts, we have proven that live events are able to run with visitor health prioritized, signaling a real economic restart for the fashion community, the many other trade industries we serve, as well as the cities that host our events."

In addition to returning to their larger keystone events in 2021, Informa Markets plans to host similar, smaller–scale regional pop–ups in cities across the globe as they begin their gradual return to face–to–face event experiences. The platform organizer also plans to continue a hybrid approach to events to enable broader opportunities for customers to engage and communities to rebuild, both online and on the show floor.

To learn more about the All Secure Standards, visit http://www.informa.com/allsecure. To learn more about testing, visit www.magicfashionevents.com.

ABOUT INFORMA MARKETS
Informa Markets creates platforms for industries and specialist markets to trade, innovate and grow. We provide marketplace participants around the globe with opportunities to engage, experience and do business through face–to–face exhibitions, targeted digital services and actionable data solutions. We connect buyers and sellers across more than a dozen global verticals, including Pharmaceuticals, Food, Medical Technology and Infrastructure. As the world's leading market–making company, we bring a diverse range of specialist markets to life, unlocking opportunities and helping them to thrive 365 days of the year. For more information, please visit www.informamarkets.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Casey Clemenza
Global Director, Corporate Communications, Informa Markets
Casey.Clemenza@informa.com


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