ProQuest Statement Re. Tasini Ruling

[Ann Okerson <ann.okerson@yale.edu>]

ProQuest Company Responds to Supreme Court Ruling in Tasini Case

ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 27, 2001 � Earlier this week, the United States
Supreme Court handed down its decision in Tasini et al. v. The New York
Times Co., Inc. et al.  The case decides important rights of publishers,
online databases and freelance authors in the online copyright area.

The Supreme Court affirmed the United States Court of Appeals for the
Second Circuit.

"We are disappointed by the Court's ruling with respect to electronic
databases, but are pleased by the Court's discussions regarding the
non-infringing nature of microform editions of periodicals," said Joe
Reynolds, president and CEO of ProQuest Company's Information and Learning
business unit.  "We appreciate the talents and contributions of freelance
writers and will continue to work closely with publishers to ensure
copyright adherence so that ProQuest continues offering our library
customers fully copyright-compliant products."

ProQuest Information & Learning (formerly UMI Company), which made two
CD-ROM products at issue in the case--The New York Times OnDisc and
General Periodicals OnDisc--stopped selling the CD-ROMS containing the
specific articles identified in the court action after the 2nd Circuit
Court of Appeals Opinion was handed down.

The case will now return to the Federal District Court in New York, which
will determine what, if any, damages are due to the freelance author
plaintiffs. A decision from the District Court regarding the damages phase
of the case is not expected for some time.

�The Court�s decision applies the Copyright Act to situations where no
consent was obtained as to the placement of the freelance author's
articles in an electronic database.  The Court's decision applies the
Copyright Act to that situation only.  Contracts between authors and
publishers regarding publishing in electronic media are still perfectly
valid,� added James Barcelona, senior vice president and general counsel
of ProQuest Information and Learning.  "We will continue to work with our
participating publishers to ensure that our products are as complete and
robust as possible within these legal guidelines."

About ProQuest Company

ProQuest Company was born of Bell & Howell Company's two highly respected
information access businesses.  Based in Ann Arbor, Mich., ProQuest
Company is a leader in e-learning and e-publishing, with more than 2,400
employees and more than $370 million in sales.  For its customers in the
academic, library, automotive and powersports industries, the company
provides access to a body of content that is unmatched in breadth and
depth.  For more information, visit http://www.proquestcompany.com

ProQuest Information and Learning is a world leader in collecting,
organizing, and distributing information worldwide to researchers,
faculty, and students in libraries and schools. Known widely for its
strength in business and economics, general-reference, humanities, social
sciences, and STM content, the company develops premium databases
comprising periodicals, newspapers, dissertations, out-of-print books, and
other scholarly information from more than 8,500 publishers worldwide.  
Users access the information through the ProQuest� Web-based online
information system, Chadwyck-Healey� electronic and microform resources,
UMI� microform and print reference products, and XanEdu� online faculty
and student resources. For more information about ProQuest Information and
Learning, visit www.il.proquest.com.

Contacts:
     Media Relations for ProQuest's Information and Learning division
     Tina Creguer
     ProQuest Information and Learning
     734-761-4700, ext. 3805
     pr@il.proquest.com

Investor Relations
     Dwight Mater
     ProQuest Company
     (734) 761-4700
     dwight.mater@proquest.com

Web site:  http://www.proquestcompany.com
http://www.il.proquest.com