Schwartz, Sidney Amway
Sidney Schwartz developed one of the first internet pages to be critical of Amway.
He was one of the first people to do so. Schwarz's involvement in a court lawsuit filed by Amway competitor Proctor & Gamble resulted in Amway taking down the website, which was eventually taken down when legal action was taken against him by the corporation.
Amway's Statement on Free Expression, the Internet, and Sidney Schwartz and Procter & Gamble (P&G)
retrieved from Amway.com, Internet Archive copy dated May 8, 1999.
Several persons and organisations have been given subpoenas in connection with a lawsuit filed against Procter & Gamble for its active sponsorship of a fake and misleading anti-Amway web site, according to the Amway Corporation.
It is Amway's belief that those who have been served with subpoenas are involved in or have been party to a coordinated anti-Amway attack on the Internet that has been subsidised by P&G, and that they may be in possession of valuable evidence regarding P&G's dissemination of inflammatory and false information about the Amway organisation.
These subpoenas are not about exercising one's right to free expression; rather, they are about gathering evidence.
In response to the subpoenas, P&G is being asked to turn over any and all records — paper and electronic — relevant to its anti-Amway operations.
Conversations with P&G and its attorneys, information about various web sites, and communications between individuals involved in anti-Amway actions are examples of what is included.
If these persons and organisations do not possess information that is relevant to the litigation, the subpoenas should not be a source of concern.
During the month of November 1998, Amway launched a lawsuit against P&G in order to defend the company's lucrative multi-national operations.
Amway filed the case after finding that P&G was sending false information to the owner of an anti-Amway web site and that the author of that web site was receiving free legal services and consultancy money as a result of the material provided.
The Complaint, which was filed in federal court in Michigan, challenges P&G's once-secret consultancy connection with Mr. Schwartz, who has used the World Wide Web to disseminate false or misleading material about the Amway Corporation. According to an ironic twist, Amway learned of P&G's association with Mr. Schwartz while defending a separate case in which P&G falsely claimed Amway was behind an old, unsubstantiated allegation that P&G subsidises the Church of Satan.
Amway likes to engage with its competitors in the open marketplace rather than hiding behind a veil of false and misleading accusations and accusations.
Amway intends to level the playing field with P&G and other producers of household and personal care products by gathering proof of the company's subsidisation of false and misleading attacks on the Internet.
ON THE RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH Since its inception in 1959, Amway and its founders have been vocal advocates for individual liberties, especially freedom of expression, in the United States. Amway's primary business strategy is built around the concept of freedom, which is one of its most important components.
On the internet, to be precise. Amway is enthusiastic about the Internet and the potential it has for fostering better international communication and comprehension.
The Amway Corporation also thinks that respect for fundamental rights, honesty and decency, as well as a willingness to collaborate are crucial to any marketplace of ideas, including the internet.
Each and every posting on the Amway website is subjected to a thorough examination to verify that it is completely true, lawful, and respectful of the rights of others. While we respect and welcome genuine disagreement and discussion, we expect that those who make comments about Amway — or about the millions of hardworking, dedicated Amway distributors around the world — will do so in a manner that is truthful, obeys the law, and is respectful of others and their differing viewpoints and beliefs.
SIDNEY SCHWARTZ AND PROCTER & GAME CO.
Apparently, Mr. Sidney Schwartz has been working on a website that Amway has been aware of for some time.
Our distributors and their business opportunity are treated with little or no respect by Mr. Schwartz, who makes no secret of his disapproval of Amway and his lack of respect for our company.
This in and of itself does not pose a problem for Amway; everyone has the right to express his or her views.
Nonetheless, Mr. Schwartz also posted a significant amount of information, some of it obviously written by third parties, that we believe crossed the line from truth and honest opinion to defamation and lies. Mr. Schwartz's website also contained information that was clearly infringing on Amway's trademarks and that reproduced copyrighted material without permission.
We recently learnt that Mr. Schwartz had taken down the majority of his website.
The fact that Mr. Schwartz made the voluntary decision to remove materials that we believed were in violation of the law was a source of great satisfaction for Amway; however, his explanation as well as his vague and ominous references to threats by Amway are sensational, inaccurate and highly misleading.
Mr. Schwartz erroneously claims that Amway has never attempted to contact him, despite the fact that Amway's attempts to establish discussion with Mr. Schwartz and discuss his issues have been met with a resounding rejection by Mr. Schwartz.
He also conveys the false impression that Amway has filed a lawsuit against him.
Despite the fact that we have a reasonable belief that some of the material on Mr. Schwartz's website violated federal and state law, Amway has decided not to file any kind of legal action against him at this time.
At this point in time, Mr. Schwartz is urging others to replicate the illegal information that was previously available on his website.
According to the facts, Mr. Schwartz works as a consultant for Procter & Gamble and is currently involved in a commercial litigation against Amway.
According to the facts, Amway has the legal right to interrogate Mr. Schwartz and P&G about their covert consultancy relationship in order to better prepare for a possible trial.
The reality is that Amway has been greeted with opposition from Mr. Schwartz and P&G at every turn, and the court has ordered Mr. Schwartz to provide answers to inquiries about his consulting connection with P&G.
The truth is that Amway has attempted to contact Mr. Schwartz, but he has refused to speak with them.
The truth is that Amway prefers conversation and has exercised enormous restraint by declining to sue Mr. Schwartz for his actions.
The reality is that this is not a matter of free expression. This is about defending Amway in a lawsuit brought by a competitor - from someone who hides behind the pretence of free speech and assaults Amway and its millions of distributors under that cover.
Regardless of whether Mr. Schwartz or anybody else has questions or concerns about Amway or the Amway opportunity, Amway has always welcomed and continues to welcome open, honest discussion of those issues.
- The 17th of December, 1997
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