Britannica Wins Suit Against Spanish Publisher

Ibercultura required to pay sums owed, fees

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Mar 06, 2013, 06:00 ET

CHICAGO, March 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The ICC International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, France, has handed down a ruling in favor of Encyclopaedia Britannica UK, Ltd. in its contractual dispute with the Spanish publisher Ibercultura Ediciones y Publicaciones SL, a former business partner.

The arbitration stemmed from allegations by Britannica that Ibercultura failed to pay sums due to it from sales of Britannica's online products in Spain. Britannica also alleged that Ibercultura had marketed one of its own products under the Britannica brand without authorization.

The court awarded Britannica the sums it claimed it was owed from actual sales, minimum guarantees, interest, legal and administrative fees. It also awarded injunctive relief on the trademark claim.

"We're delighted that the Court of Arbitration found for us in this case in which we had clearly been wronged," said William J. Bowe, executive vice president and general counsel for Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. "We take a dim view of business partners who fail to fulfill their agreements with us, and we will enforce our contractual and intellectual property rights in all cases, as we did here."

About Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., is a global leader in education publishing whose products are available in many media, including online, applications for wireless devices and books. A pioneer in digital publishing since the early 1980s, the company markets a variety of curriculum products for schools, language-study courses, online learning services, encyclopedias and other reference works, management solutions and language products through its Merriam-Webster subsidiary. Many of them are available at store.britannica.com. The company is located in Chicago.

SOURCE Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.