On Feb. 29, 1996, a federal court threw out a lawsuit accusing The Associated Press of trying to monopolize the electronic delivery of newspaper advertising.
United States District Court Judge Peter K. Leisure granted defendants' motions for a summary judgment in the lawsuit brought by Ad/Sat against The Associated Press, Newspaper Association of America, Newspaper National Network and a number of other defendants. The judge also dismissed a lawsuit in which Ad/Sat alleged violations of the Sherman Act.
Ad/Sat, which delivers advertisements to newspapers over satellite networks, claimed that AP's AdSend service unfairly drew on AP's network of member newspapers to drive out competitors and become dominant.
Leisure noted that there were many other competitors in the market. "The evidence reveals that papers can use more than one electronic delivery system," he wrote in a 69-page ruling. The judge also pointed out that 80 percent of all newspaper ads are still delivered by overnight mail. "In contrast to Ad/Sat, AP entered the market knowing that a pricing scheme which was competitive with the overnight carriers is essential to success," the judge wrote.
"We are delighted but not surprised with the court's decision," said John F. Sturm, NAA president and CEO. "This lawsuit never made any sense whatsoever, and we are hopeful that this decision on the merits will end this time-consuming and costly litigation. It's unfortunate that we had to expend the funds of our members to defend ourselves against this unwarranted lawsuit, but, of course, we had no choice."
©1997 Newspaper Association of America. All rights reserved.