Reed and IDG battle over a trade show

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, May 1, 1992 by Keith J. Kelly

A computer trade show slated for early this month is at the center of a legal dispute pitting last year's co-sponsor, Reed Publishing's Government Computer News (GCN) against this year's co-sponsor, International Data Group's Federal Computer Week.

Reed alleges the trade show's coproducer, the Fairfax Station, Virginia-based Federal Sources Inc., breached its contract by dumping GCN in favor of the rival title at IDG, according to the lawsuit. However, GCN acknowledges that the partnership "was not memorialized in a single written partnership agreement, but instead, the two businesses formed a partnership at will."

The suit, now pending in Federal District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, seeks unspecified damages. Named as co-defendants are FCW Publishing Corp., the Richmond, Virginia-based subsidiary of IDG that publishes Federal Computer Week, and Federal Sources, which, with GCN, developed the concept of the four-year-old First Look trade show.

Federal Computer Week won the first legal skirmish, when Reed's motion for a temporary restraining order against the show was rejected on March 20. Reed's bid for a permanent injunction was then rejected on April 9.

Kenneth Kaplan, publisher of Federal Computer Week, says that "Reed lost in its bid to get injunctive relief; we believe the rest of the lawsuit is also without merit." He declines further comment. Execs from Reed, GCN and Federal Sources also declined comment.

London-based Reed International and its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, Cahners Publishing Co., comprise one of the largest trade-show and conference companies in the world.

With 200-plus attendees paying $250 each, the First Look show - which provides a preview of the next year's government spending-could quickly gross a half-million dollars.