HIRED: Ryan Hunter-Reay has signed with Andretti Autosport for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series. Van-Heusen will sponsor the No. 37 Hunter-Reay will drive in the Indy 500 and selected other events. The team is still seeking sponsorship that would allow Hunter-Reay to run the full schedule.

ON LEAVE: Grand American Road Racing Championship President Roger Edmondson is taking a leave of absence from the company to tend to personal health issues. Tom Bledsoe will assume the day-to-day leadership role for Grand Am.

STILL WORKING: Former Indianapolis 500 winner Gil de Ferran hasn’t given up on plans to field an IndyCar Series effort in 2010. He is still paying employees from his defunct road racing team and hopes to land a sponsor to move to Indy car competition this season.

NEW HIRES: Furniture Row Racing has promoted Ryan Coniam to crew chief while adding veteran crew members Mark McArdle and Pete Rondeau to the No. 78 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team for driver Regan Smith.

HITTING THE ROAD: NASCAR replaced the canceled Nationwide Series race at The Milwaukee Mile with a road race at Wisconsin’s Road America. The race will be held June 19.

INDOOR ACES: Brad Loyet and Billy Wease were indoor midget winners during the holiday season. Loyet swept two events on dirt inside Kemper Arena in Kansas City, while Wease won both ends of the traditional Rumble in Fort Wayne (Indiana) events.

STICKING TOGETHER: Veteran driver Jason Meyers and Elite Racing will remain together for the 2010 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series season.

SUBSCRIBE: National Speed Sport News has been published weekly since 1934. Subscribe to National Speed Sport News for a special industry rate.

The January 2010 issue of SEMA News features more than 200 new products from the SEMA Show's first-time exhibitors. From shop tools to engine upgrades, styling enhancements to mobile electronics, first-time exhibitors hit the floor with some of the hottest products this industry has to offer.

Check out the new products from SEMA Show first-time exhibitors in the January issue of SEMA News.

The January 2010 issue of SEMA News features more than 200 new products from the SEMA Show's first-time exhibitors. From shop tools to engine upgrades, styling enhancements to mobile electronics, first-time exhibitors hit the floor with some of the hottest products this industry has to offer.

Check out the new products from SEMA Show first-time exhibitors in the January issue of SEMA News.

The January 2010 issue of SEMA News features more than 200 new products from the SEMA Show's first-time exhibitors. From shop tools to engine upgrades, styling enhancements to mobile electronics, first-time exhibitors hit the floor with some of the hottest products this industry has to offer.

Check out the new products from SEMA Show first-time exhibitors in the January issue of SEMA News.

Any good idea or product is worth protecting—especially if it’s the mainstay of your business’ success. However the process of protecting your intellectual property )IP_ may seem daunting. To help explain the procedures and ease the complexity for SEMA-member companies, the association recently hosted a webinar entitled “Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights: Ask the Experts.” It was presented by Steve Lustig of Dickinson Wright PLLC; Robb Roby Knobbe, Martens Olson & Bear LLP; and Merritt Blakeslee of the Blakeslee Law Firm.

Read on for expert insight on the different types of IP and what you can do to protect your business, ideas and products.

Any good idea or product is worth protecting—especially if it’s the mainstay of your business’ success. However the process of protecting your intellectual property )IP_ may seem daunting. To help explain the procedures and ease the complexity for SEMA-member companies, the association recently hosted a webinar entitled “Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights: Ask the Experts.” It was presented by Steve Lustig of Dickinson Wright PLLC; Robb Roby Knobbe, Martens Olson & Bear LLP; and Merritt Blakeslee of the Blakeslee Law Firm.

Read on for expert insight on the different types of IP and what you can do to protect your business, ideas and products.

Any good idea or product is worth protecting—especially if it’s the mainstay of your business’ success. However the process of protecting your intellectual property )IP_ may seem daunting. To help explain the procedures and ease the complexity for SEMA-member companies, the association recently hosted a webinar entitled “Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights: Ask the Experts.” It was presented by Steve Lustig of Dickinson Wright PLLC; Robb Roby Knobbe, Martens Olson & Bear LLP; and Merritt Blakeslee of the Blakeslee Law Firm.

Read on for expert insight on the different types of IP and what you can do to protect your business, ideas and products.

SEMA is alerting its members that a one-page form they may receive offering a "free" business directory listing is not free when you sign the form. Examples of these business directories include “World Business Guide,” “World Business Directory,” “Expo-Guide” and “The Fair Guide.” The guides are generally operated from Austria, Mexico, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain and other countries. SEMA recommends that you not complete these types of listing forms.

Here is how a “free listing” scam works: A group collects your company's name and mailing address from the yellow pages or other publication, and then sends you a form asking you to provide supplemental information (phone, fax, e-mail, etc.) for your "FREE" listing in their guide. However, the fine print at the bottom of the page states that by signing and returning the form, you have agreed to pay for the listing. The amount you pay can be substantial. The group then sends you a collection letter several weeks later. If you don't pay, they continue to send dunning notices and threaten litigation.

While SEMA cannot provide advice on how to respond to collection tactics, we note that many companies have disputed the validity of the contracts and no subsequent legal actions were carried out against the non-payers. We also note that the Austrian Advertising Council found The Fair Guide to be a breach of the Austrian Advertising Code and its operator. Construct Data signed an agreement to cease mailing the misleading contracts from Austria and to cancel their demands for disputed monies. Here are links for more information on the four example guides:

• www.stopecg.org/world_business_guide.htm
• www.stopecg.org/world_business_directory.htm
• www.stopecg.org/expo-guide.htm
• www.stopecg.org/construct_data_fairguide.htm

Here is a link to a sample letter that may be sent to Construct Data when disputing a dunning notice: www.stopecg.org/cdcancellation.doc. It may provide guidance when disputing notices from other companies.

To file a complaint in the United States, you may wish to contact:

Federal Trade Commission
Office of Business Fraud
600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20580
www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov
Tel: 202/326-2800
Fax: 202/326-2034
E-mail: OIG@ftc.gov

For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein.

SEMA is alerting its members that a one-page form they may receive offering a "free" business directory listing is not free when you sign the form. Examples of these business directories include “World Business Guide,” “World Business Directory,” “Expo-Guide” and “The Fair Guide.” The guides are generally operated from Austria, Mexico, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain and other countries. SEMA recommends that you not complete these types of listing forms.

Here is how a “free listing” scam works: A group collects your company's name and mailing address from the yellow pages or other publication, and then sends you a form asking you to provide supplemental information (phone, fax, e-mail, etc.) for your "FREE" listing in their guide. However, the fine print at the bottom of the page states that by signing and returning the form, you have agreed to pay for the listing. The amount you pay can be substantial. The group then sends you a collection letter several weeks later. If you don't pay, they continue to send dunning notices and threaten litigation.

While SEMA cannot provide advice on how to respond to collection tactics, we note that many companies have disputed the validity of the contracts and no subsequent legal actions were carried out against the non-payers. We also note that the Austrian Advertising Council found The Fair Guide to be a breach of the Austrian Advertising Code and its operator. Construct Data signed an agreement to cease mailing the misleading contracts from Austria and to cancel their demands for disputed monies. Here are links for more information on the four example guides:

• www.stopecg.org/world_business_guide.htm
• www.stopecg.org/world_business_directory.htm
• www.stopecg.org/expo-guide.htm
• www.stopecg.org/construct_data_fairguide.htm

Here is a link to a sample letter that may be sent to Construct Data when disputing a dunning notice: www.stopecg.org/cdcancellation.doc. It may provide guidance when disputing notices from other companies.

To file a complaint in the United States, you may wish to contact:

Federal Trade Commission
Office of Business Fraud
600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20580
www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov
Tel: 202/326-2800
Fax: 202/326-2034
E-mail: OIG@ftc.gov

For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein.

SEMA is alerting its members that a one-page form they may receive offering a "free" business directory listing is not free when you sign the form. Examples of these business directories include “World Business Guide,” “World Business Directory,” “Expo-Guide” and “The Fair Guide.” The guides are generally operated from Austria, Mexico, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain and other countries. SEMA recommends that you not complete these types of listing forms.

Here is how a “free listing” scam works: A group collects your company's name and mailing address from the yellow pages or other publication, and then sends you a form asking you to provide supplemental information (phone, fax, e-mail, etc.) for your "FREE" listing in their guide. However, the fine print at the bottom of the page states that by signing and returning the form, you have agreed to pay for the listing. The amount you pay can be substantial. The group then sends you a collection letter several weeks later. If you don't pay, they continue to send dunning notices and threaten litigation.

While SEMA cannot provide advice on how to respond to collection tactics, we note that many companies have disputed the validity of the contracts and no subsequent legal actions were carried out against the non-payers. We also note that the Austrian Advertising Council found The Fair Guide to be a breach of the Austrian Advertising Code and its operator. Construct Data signed an agreement to cease mailing the misleading contracts from Austria and to cancel their demands for disputed monies. Here are links for more information on the four example guides:

• www.stopecg.org/world_business_guide.htm
• www.stopecg.org/world_business_directory.htm
• www.stopecg.org/expo-guide.htm
• www.stopecg.org/construct_data_fairguide.htm

Here is a link to a sample letter that may be sent to Construct Data when disputing a dunning notice: www.stopecg.org/cdcancellation.doc. It may provide guidance when disputing notices from other companies.

To file a complaint in the United States, you may wish to contact:

Federal Trade Commission
Office of Business Fraud
600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20580
www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov
Tel: 202/326-2800
Fax: 202/326-2034
E-mail: OIG@ftc.gov

For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein.