MCH has previously asked all exhibitors to think carefully before entering into any written 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)
- The Slovakian company Event Fair, which runs the website www.eventandfair.org
- The Uruguayan Company International Fairs Directory - MULPOR Company S.A. inter-fairs.com
These guides regularly send written offers of inclusion/advertising on their internet portal to exhibitors, who have participated in trade fairs or exhibitions in 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, Expo-Guide or Event Fair
Their offers can be worded in such a way as to create the misleading impression that MCH cooperates with the three companies concerned. MCH does not cooperate with Fair Guide, Expo-Guide or Event Fair. We wish to emphasize that MCH Messecenter Herning Kongrescenter has absolutely no form of cooperation with these guides. We have never supplied exhibitor names or lists to them and we strongly dissociate ourselves from the methods used by these companies.
By signing an agreement with Fair Guide, Expo-Guide or Event Fair, 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 of many trade fair and exhibition organizers against Fair Guide, in that 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, Expo-Guide and Event Fair – an example is EU Company Directory and there are others. 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.