SOURCE: NewspaperDirect

October 24, 2008 15:02 ET

NewspaperDirect Awarded Damages Against ToDaily for Breach of Contract

ISTANBUL, TURKEY--(Marketwire - October 24, 2008) - (Distripress Congress): NewspaperDirect Inc. announced that the International Center for Dispute Resolution of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) has ruled in NewspaperDirect's case against ToDaily (Victory Interactive Media SA). The AAA has found ToDaily liable for damages and has issued the Final Award in favor of NewspaperDirect.

On March 16, 2007, NewspaperDirect suspended its content feed to ToDaily and terminated the License Agreement with the company. This action was prompted by concerns on the part of NewspaperDirect that content was being misused by ToDaily, and that royalties due to both NewspaperDirect and its publisher partners were not being paid. Since that time, NewspaperDirect has pursued damages in U.S. courts and the action has now been concluded.

The panel of three arbitrators, whose decision is both binding and final, stated:

"The credible evidence adduced at the hearing clearly established that Respondent, doing business as 'ToDaily' and otherwise, breached its Agreement with Claimant by, among other things, failing and refusing to pay royalties when due and owing; wrongfully competing with Claimant in violation of the clear and unambiguous terms of the Agreement... As a practical matter, Respondent, in bad faith, literally 'pirated' Claimant's business in the territories granted to it pursuant to the Agreement, thereby depriving Claimant of the benefit of its bargain embodied in the Agreement."

"After considerable expense and effort, NewspaperDirect is pleased to finally bring closure to this issue," said Alexander Kroogman, CEO of NewspaperDirect. "We are committed to the future of digital newspaper printing and remain diligent in our efforts to expand our fully transparent digital distribution network for our growing network of publishers, distribution partners and customers worldwide."

NewspaperDirect is now taking steps to enforce the decision of the AAA.

About NewspaperDirect Inc.

NewspaperDirect is the world leader in multi-channel newspaper and magazine content distribution and monetization. Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, NewspaperDirect has offices in London, Vienna and Düsseldorf. Its proprietary technology is the foundation behind its highly acclaimed global distribution services: PressDisplay.com, ND Press and Print-On-Demand, and its privately branded ePaper solution -- SmartEdition.

NewspaperDirect has agreements with over 800 newspaper and magazine publishers from 81 countries around the globe to market, sell and/or print their publications worldwide in print or online.

The NewspaperDirect global Print-On-Demand and ND Press network has grown to more than 100 License Partners with over 1200 print locations in more than 100 countries. This network includes distributors, luxury hotels, cruise ships, yachts, airlines, retailers, libraries and research facilities. In addition, NewspaperDirect prints and distributes newspapers at major business, political and sporting events such as the Olympics and the G8 Summits.

As a Microsoft Premium Partner, NewspaperDirect also develops content applications for Tablet PCs, Ultra-Mobile PCs and Windows Mobile devices.