Warning to all exhibitors concerning Fair Guide, Expo Guide and others

MCH Messecenter Herning warns all exhibitors about entering into any
agreement with:
 

• The Austrian company Fair Guide, which through the company Construct Data Verlag AG runs the internet portal www.fairguide.com

• The Mexican company Commercial Online Manuals S de RL de CV, which through the company Expo-Guide, Germany runs the web site www.expo-guide.com (Expo Guide should not be confused with the Danish stand construction company with the same name). 

Both Fair Guide and Expo Guide regularly send  written offers of inclusion/advertising on their internet portal to exhibitors who have participated in trade fairs or exhibitions at MCH. They have obtained the names of exhibitors without our knowledge or agreement and have thus unlawfully copied the MCH web site. 

No cooperation with Fair Guide or Expo-Guide
Their offers can be phrased in such a way that you can get the misleading impression that MCH cooperates with the two companies concerned. We wish to emphasize that MCH Messecenter Herning Kongrescenter has absolutely no form of cooperation with the two guides, that we have never supplied exhibitor names or lists to them and that we strongly dissociate ourselves from the methods used by these companies.

By signing an agreement with Fair Guide or Expo-Guide you commit yourself to paying up to DKK 25,000 for a three-year inclusion on the internet portals. It is naturally up to individuals to judge whether they wish this service – we are definitely of the opinion that it is not worth the money. 

German verdict against Fair Guide
Fair Guide uses the same methods in many different countries. However, progress has been made in the struggle against Fair Guide. The Landgericht Chemnitz in Germany has reached a verdict against Fair Guide. The verdict says that the company is guilty of fraud, that Construct Data Verlag AG cannot require payment from a customer who had signed the company’s form, that the customer’s entry on the internet page should be deleted and that Construct Data Verlag AG is to pay the costs incurred by both parties in the case.

The German organization, AUMA, representing the interests of organizers of trade fairs has published the terms of the verdict in a news letter which can be read here. MCH has a transcript of the verdict and the grounds for it in both a German and an English version.

Other similar companies
Please be aware that other companies also make use of a concept that is similar to that of Fair Guide and Expo-Guide – an example is EU Company Directory et al. We are not aware of any verdict against Expo Guide or other organizations, but we are aware that their business methods are more or less identical with those of Fair Guide.