Berg Howard S

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1"1 THE MATTER OF HOWARD S. BERG CONSENT ORDER, ETe. , IN REGARD TO ALLEGED VIOLA non OF SEe. 5 OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ACT Docket C-3812. Complaint, June 1998--Decision, June, 1998 This consent order requires, among other things, the Texas-based advertiser and distributor, who participated in the production of program-length television commercials promoting Howard Berg s Mega Reading, to possess substantiation for claim regarding the benefits, perfonnncc or efficacy of any product or program he advertises, promotes, sells or distributes in the future. Appearances For the Commission: Russell Damloft, Mary Tortorice, Char/uta Pagar, Theresa McGrew and C. Steven Baker. For the respondent: Wallace Collins, Stein Stein New York, N. COMPLAINT The Federal Trade Commission, having reason to believe that Howard S. Berg, individually ("respondent"), has violated the provisions ofthe Federal Trade Commission Act, and it appearing to the Commission that this proceeding is in the public interest, alleges: 1. Respondent Howard S. Berg has advertised, offered for sale sold, and distributed products to the public, including Howard Berg Mega Reading. Individually or in concert with others, he participated in the acts or practices alleged in this complaint. He resides at 1001 Greenbriar Lane, Mc Kinney, TX.

2. Respondent participated with Tm-Vantage International L.L.c. and Kevin Trudeau in the production of a program-length television commercial which runs for 30 minutes or less and fits within normal television broadcasting time slots. The television commercial was and is broadcast on network, independent and cable television stations throughout the United States. During the television commercial, respondent acted as the guest and promoted Howard Berg s Mega Reading.

3. The acts and practices of respondent alleged in this complaint have been in or affecting commerce, as " commerce" is defined in Section 4 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. HOWARD S. BERG 1227 1226 Complaint 4. Respondent has created, and disseminated advertisements for Howard Berg s Mega Reading, including but not necessarily limited to the attached Exhibit A. This advertisement contains the following statements:

Ben! I teach children not just how to read faster but to comprehend, retain and stay focused. . . . So, Mega Reading is a complete accelerated learning system that doesn t just teach you to read quickly. Trudeau: Right.

Berg: On a skimmng level.

Trudeau: Right.

Berg But to comprehend, apply and use it. Even under test situations. Berg I'm working with companies like Pfizer, Mobil Oil, that have high tech reading. And they used it because it was easy to retain complicated information.

Trudeau: , even the detailed complicated material, people can read quickly and grasp it and comprehend it and recall it.

Berg Over long periods of time.

Berg They hired me to train their editors not only in how to speed read but how to make books easier to comprehend, because my program teaches people how to understand text.

Trudeau: Right.

Berg Not just blur through it.

Trudeau: Folks, jf you want more information on Howard's program, Mega Reading program, it s a home study course that you can go through at your leisure and it wil virtually release your own super reading speed mega reading. You ll be able to read almost as fast as Howard. Virtually quadruple, five, ten times your reading speed right now. Berg I have a letter here from a girl who has brain damage. Trudeau: Right.

Berg Brain damage. She was in a car accident and half her brain stopped functioning. It was electrically dead.

Trudeau: Right.

Berg: And she writes. It says that on a coffee break in my word shop, she went three to 600 words per minute. This is someone with severe brain damage. So yes, it works for anyone. And you can t get worse than that. Berg At the end of the workshop, every child and parent had at least doubled except for one.

Trudeau: Uh-huh.

Berg That child was reading at five seconds a page and I quizzed her. Trudeau: Five seconds.

Ben! Five seconds a page. And the vice principal was there. Trudeau: And they re reading it? Berg Comprehending it and retaining it.

Complaint 125 F.T. Berg Anybody. In fact, I had a blind student in Huntsvile, Alabama. Trudeau: Yeah.

Ben! swear to you it's true. : I Trudeau: Wait a minute. You can t read if you can see. Berg She was reading in Braille.

Trudeau: Oh, okay.

Berg: And she took the program to learn the memory skills. Because a lot of people when they hear speed reading, they think fast reading. With Mega Reading it's not just fast reading, it's fast learning. Remember what Tommy said, it's a complete accelerated learning program. And what I teach them is storing, retrieving, recallng, focusing. 5. Through the means described in paragraph four, respondent has represented, expressly or by implication, that Howard Berg Mega Reading is successful in teaching anyone, including adults children and disabled individuals, to significantly increase their reading speed while substantially comprehending and retaining the material.

6. In truth and in fact Howard Berg s Mega Reading is not successful in teaching anyone, including adults, children and disabled individuals, to significantly increase their reading speed while substantially comprehending and retaining the material. Therefore the representation set forth in paragraph five was, and is, false or misleading.

7. Through the means described in paragraph four, respondent has represented, expressly or by implication, that he possessed and relied upon a reasonable basis that substantiated the representation set forth in paragraph five, at the time the representation was made. 8. In truth and in fact, respondent did not possess and rely upon a reasonable basis that substantiated the representation set forth in paragraph five, at the time the representation was made. Therefore the representation set forth in paragraph seven was, and is, false or misleading.

9. The acts and practices of respondent as alleged in this complaint constitute unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce in violation of Section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commssion Act.

By the Commssion.

1 Pror to leaving the Commssion, former Commissioner Azcuenaga registered a vote in the affrmtive for this complaint.

:: _ ::; , ::

HOWARD S. BERG 1229 1226 Complaint EXHIBIT A FEDERA TRE COMMSSION FTC MATTER NO. 942-3278 Tine: HOWARD BERG' S MEGA READING TELEVISION INOMERCIAL PAGES: 1 THOUGH 31 :J I , I TR"JL\TI CIJMPl.:X: ::IB I: L 'R!J- J."'J.G:: '-X=:;;: :::3:: 3::, \o::.

. ::. ,: ?: . . Complaint 125 F.T. EXHIBIT A MR. TR':'"::: Tha::k.s f::-: \;at.::1:'::;9. Kev: cea and this is anc:l;eZ' editior. of Va!'tase Po':!::. Eew wc lc yc like to t"ead 25, ODa wares a ir.ute? How about t"eadir:g an er::ir-e ock just like this n about twenty ir.utes instead of te:1 hcl.::s? Imagine reading newspaper or magazine in a ft"acticn of t e time it would no=mlly t k.e. Well, y guest today ca do: st that as well as comprehend and remember eve thing. Howard e=s is the world' s fastest reader. He I S in ':h Guiness Book of ' ;orld Records. s the founder of the Berg Keadi g lnstit te and aut.11or of Mf'C"i= R..;;rj' J:p. s been :eat red on virtua:ly thousands of radio and television shews as well as written about in literally hundr2ds of newspapers ar.d magazines al: arou d the world. Howard, thanks for being my guest today. MR. BERG; Well, it' s great to be here, Kev.:. MR. TRADE. OK, you take a took like this, and how long would it take you to read it? MR. BERG: Well, top speed, five or six minutes. MR. TRUDEAO': Five or six minutes.

MR. 8ERG: ve been tested. I was On " egis ;md Kathie ee, " and they gave me a book about that size. MR. TR EAU: This would be a g eat book to read by the ' s 2:: way, f::r some.:ocy, obviously Warren B ::et is t ..orl greatest ir:vestor.

Ior. e.s, C :'. =-=s.:: :l .."-co 0;- _ O; -­ . . . : : .. , : g ::: : . HOWARD S. BERG 1231 1226 Complaint EXHIBIT A J I ;arne whe" I got;. ::1".e::e. Ir'. s:eac, ey had the au:ho come on as a se to test me a d see me if: had real:y :ear ed the book. A::d ! get ever! question r gh:. Dy r.ot j st =eadi, bu: retalning a d comp::ehendir.g a d focusing. MR. TP, ":EAU: Now tti 5 ' ,.as 0:1 " Reg': s a.nd Ka::1'. ie Lee, 1 ar.:: the book was about, how long a boo was i:? MR. Between 240 and 300 pages.

MR. T?:;.J!:U: And how long did it t ke yo to reaci tnat bc:) MR. EER.:: I read it like four times, so it :aok t r.:i. .1tes. : was orlzing, I w ' t reading, I was memorizl fo= a test.

MR. 'Ir::JEAIJ: Wait a minute, let me ake su=e I t!1is straight. cu took a boo::, it took you t :2nty minutes to read it four times, to memorize it. New, he e I s the quest viously I you re the wo ld I s fastest reader. You I re in Guiness Book of World Records. Is this sometJ".ing that eve::'bcciy or is it just a gift that you have? MR. BERG: Let me tell you someone else asked me t q..estion. I was in Canada, and Di i Petty who s a natio al talk show host n Canada said the same thing. She said, Howa d , sou ds too geed te be t e that a yone could do it. I said, Di:,. how about you pick a few audier. IT,eit.be s, a:;d you a:'. ::!",e . c::rr.e to y WC Cp :==O ::2, c we see a: 2:: ::"'::':2:-:2 co cO: '''::2:-. ,. ,, . :.:, ;; ,, :_ ::: !: ::: Complaint 125 FTC. EXHIBIT A cr. e of them was . 3 _ r-cfessional. i fc got g:assets, so someone had to r-un back and ge them. good to ave your ow talk s:JOw And at the end of the workshop, D ni hac slightly bled, a d the two o:her people were close to quac= p:ing e:= reading speed.

MR. TR:JDEAU; That workshop is just a coup:e hours. MR. BERG: Less than four hours. And they ..ent on national television in Canada. And ini wcnt on the air and says, "Howard' 5 really onto something. I think eve cne In Canada should be using this. And then off the air. she came up to me and she said. I have a son, and I wanted to knew if the next time you re in Torento, could my son please come to your workshop, because I think every child shou d be get g t e5e skills - Because ! ow how much they helped me. " MR. TRUDEAU; So now your cou se ac ually releases a person s natural abili y to speed ead- MR. BERG: And it' s easy. it' s f' , and it' systematic.

MR. 7RUDEAU: re going to test you right now. have over here, by the way, stacks of books. and we e going to test Howard. The first bock! have is by Jerry Spence, nr. r'v"'-v 'f; me Jerry Spence. ! :"ove this y, by the : 3 way, s far,tastic. And :' going t ve y u a :"itt':e portior. ::: ::::'5 cC':. :-:c", a:::: a::. war, ,: Y::' :-'2ad '::. :-'2 c;c:.;:g 0-- ­ I -= : . . . :: ; : .: .. HOWARD S. BERG 1233 1226 Complaint EXHIBIT A going to qu :s is an easy O:1e ' 21 sta::: of: as 3:1 i:' 5 abo'.J: easy one. I:' s jus: about the auther. A g=ea bOOfc, the author. OK, no.. held cn, e=e ' 5 t e page, put your f::1ge:: in there, den t open :t yet. :10W hold on because :' m gOlr.g :0 time you with my stopwatch. OK, ::eady? MR. BERG; Yes . 7RIJDEAU; Go.

MR. BERG: Good MR. TRtJ"DEAU: About --- little eve:: four seconds. MR. BERG: : haven t warmed up yet.

MR. TRUDEAU: Four seconds? OK, now give me the boote. MR. BERG:

MR. TRUDEAU; Now you ve read that? MR. BERG: Yes, I have.

MR. TRUDEAU; OK. ,iell, m going to test you on a couple questions on this thing.

MR. BERG: No problem.

MR. TRUDEAU: All right. First thing - - now . by the way. I went through these books that I' m going to be giving Howard and it took me eight hours yesterday. Because I went to the book store, bought a whole bunch 0: books, and:: said:: ' :;\.s:: .:o:.ng to buy andom books and we ::c:.:-.: to tes:: ycu. Cicay.

::: ::a :-e::2 :'::2 :::.::e::9o:. ! : . .: ,. ... . Complaint 125 FTC. EXHIBIT A BERG: Yes i.t die:.

MR. TR:""DEAU: G.: ve me a cO'cple of the peop:"e I-_ . BERG. The::e were two. 711ere was Randy weave=­ MR. TR(hEAU; Right.

MR. BERG: .d Imelda Marcos.

MR. TRIJDEAU: Corree': . Where does e l.:ve? MR. BERG: Jac :50" Hole. Wyomi.:1g.

MR. TRL'"EAU; C'-:rrec:t. And he has a wife: lih:c:' s his wife I 5 na;ne? MR. BERG: Emma Jean.

MR. TRUDEAU: Correct. Emma Jean.

XR. BERG: Yes.

MR. 7RUDEAU: A.1 right. Hold on, we ' re air.s to -­ MR. BERG.: A li.title slow.

MR. TRUDEAU: We:l, a little slow. Okay. re qO:":19 to make it a little hit tougher now. Here' 5 an o::her !:OCK.. Here I 5 another book. Math Magic by Scott Flan.sburg. Scott is a gcod friend of mine. re going to have Scott on the show. He' s the human calcula or.

Now, this book teaches you how to do math calc latic In you:! head. Now, this is going to be a good test, fo:ks. Now because magine his. What -- the techr.iques -- t:-e eqy that Howa=d has - - Heward has that teac::es ?ec;:: i tec :.. I ':5 c..' :c =eac boc s a c CDV OUS:Y k edge s ?owe= = 2..

; :: . :::: ::: :: : . HOWARD S. BERG 1235 126 Complaint EXHIBIT A MR. 5E?G' A."1G apply MR. '"EAU: A.,,d apply 1 t. Okay. So, :' m SC.l::g to gl ve yo a c apte=. This is the entire chapter seve::. MR. E2RG: Okay.

TRm; u: m going to tlme you.

MR. BERG: ckay.

MR. TRUDErU; :"et' 5 get i5 c:'eared cut h re. Ar. this is n multiplication t:"ick.s.

MR. BERG:

MR. rnm:E;':: You ' =e geing to read this. ':,d then r' 901n9 rc test your m l;iplication skills because tr. is going teacr. yc how to do ul tiplication in your head. MR. EERG: I get to use a calculator:

MR. TRUDEAU: No calculator.

MR. BERG: Okay.

MR. TRUDEAU: Okay. All right, hold on. :-!c:'d on, geing to time you. :'1 say go. Ready, set, go. (Whereupon, ere was a brief p&use wcile Hr. Berg was reading the book.

Y.R. BERG: Okay.

MR. TR:'''2AU: ty four seconds. 1\entry o\.:: a:',c, a hal: secends.

of. ages. 'I. BERG: :"ere' was a 1:::: MR. TR' ;;a.ges. New ye!. == , . : : ::: . .. Complaint 125 FTC. EXHIBIT A MR. BERG: :led it.

MR. TRUDEAU: You learned it? . BERG: Yes, and so could you. That I s tte cle point.

MR. TRUDEAU: All right. Well, let me test you on this. This is on multiplication - it' s cn multiplica:ion skills. Okay? MR. BERG; Okay.

MR. TRUDEAU: Le t me give you a coupl e of mul tiplication tables here. Okay. 45 times 4.5? MR. BERG: That would be 2, 025.

MR. :KUDEAU: You just did that in your lead? MR. BERG: That I S right. It teaches you how to do it. That' s the whole point.

MR. TRDDEAU: You don t have a calculator here by the way? Can we -- Paul, make sure we get that -- I want to make sure someone gives me a thumbs up if that' s the right ar.swer. Let me give you another one here.

MR. BERG: It' s right.. Okay.

MR. TRtJDEAU: 7S times 7S? MR, EERG: 625.

M.'q. TRUDEAG: want Paul tc ake su -- g.;ve me ::lke some -- we got a thumbs up t!'e:ce? s ::ight. 0: cc'..:-se I'" I S::RG: 2::

::. _.__,.. : ::g . . HOWARD S. BERG 1226 Complaint EXHIBIT A MR . BERG, Tha s the whole poi,-t, Kev I:' s 11 .

om. .. eve one should be doi You know the t::1,ited States ated i 49th positiG ir. li.::e:-acy J:y '1e Ur:.iced j I has bee Nations. T think all o viewers should be cor.ce::nec. T:.ey jus: had a f ont page story 1D U5A Today about how education system is failing to teact the students.

MR. TRUDEAU' : Uh- huh.

MR. BERG: Time Magazine talked about the"educational: crisis. Even the . teachers unions are beco ing concerned. Governor Bush has just made the most highest priority in his second term of office is teaching reading skills, because 2S percent of the children in Texas don t know how to :-ead. This is what it' s about.

I teach children not just how to read faste but to comprehend, retain and stay focused. Because face it, how many times have you or the people at home take' a test or gene to an important meeting and got tense. You got frightened. You got worried. And all that information that ou stored ar.d worked so hard at learning was forgotten.

So, Mega Reading is a co plete accelerated learni system that does t j st teach you to ead q ickly. 2:2 MR, TRtDEA:J: R:'ght.

. BERG: On a sk.:m:r. :'evel.

::_ .. , .. ;:, Complaint 125 FTC. EXHIBIT A test s atio MR. TRUDEAu; Ar.c it J st takes a :ew short s :0 lea:=!".. Cc=rec: '? MR. BERG: Couple of hours. That I 5 i:. MR. ':R'JEAU: Now, let me ask you a quest on. ':he::e ' 5 been speed reading courses been around for ye&rs. MR. BERG: That' s true.

MR. TRt'EAU: Evelyn Woed is p=-cb y tr.e cst c and: I m sure there ' 5 dozens of other speed reading courses. MP.. BERG: Yes, nd some of them quite good. MR. TRUDEAU: But the biggest ch nge most pec fol.:n.d is, number one, it toc;; days, weeks, rn:::".ths of practice ar. training.

MR. EERG: Absolutely. Hours a day.

MR. 7RUDEAU: Right.

MR. BERG: With days, weeks and months. It' s net just days, weeks, and months, but hours a days ea=h of those days. ose MR. TR'JEAU: So, how is yours dif ere t t an t that respect.? MR. BERG: First of all, the program takes less t four ours tc learn.

MR. TRTIEAU: at' s i:? MR. BERG: !::a: ' s ::1:

TR:' 2:19 ":.:

. : :; , ,:: .:::q: :: . .. HOWARD S. BERG 1239 1226 Complaint EXHIBIT A MR. 7F.L"DEAU: L.:;.e 2.;:a..::-. 1:0 :-:.::e a ::::-(:'. MR. E A."ld you ::eve= :o::ge: ow once cw ow. O:-ce ym.: rele3.se i.:, 5 t.he=e. '1. T:iUDEAU: ::e =e:easing ec::e ' s abi1.i:y it' 5 radically Gi==ere t than :these other.: Co =ses. !1. BERG; Can you c=oss t e street: and look at the t=c:.::ic a::d know ' '!1ere ycu re gci::g? Lock at all :he in:ortLar.ion t:hat your b=a.:n. h?:: to process :. a:l .:nstan':. 1,..:t sat. bra':" shc ld be ::eadir.q book st as e::ortlessly 2r.G that' s ""tat: tea::;'..

MR. TRtJ'"EAU: Well, ::aw - - so, these otter courses t have been out there, your progr is a revo:ut c"lary it' tcta :y differen:.

MR. BERG: Let me tell you a story, !:e"I:'r1. MR. TRt-:EAU: Yeah.

MR. EERG: The forme president of Eve:yr, wood, the airman of Evelyn Woed is Maurice Thompson. Jr. 1 have a let':e:: from him.

MR. TRUDEAU: Right.

MR. BERG: Tommy asked me to train bim ci his fami:y las: September. Tr.e fc er president of Eve . Woed askec e to train his family. :hJ.s J.S the an whe news s readi MR. TR:"-:EAU:

G . ",is SC:-. ..;:::e': .:::k !;e Ne:-, :r::r: : :: . ,.. ::: Complaint 125 F. EXHIBIT A tioned how is grades edia:2ly shot om: e prev:ols term. d would you like to =e :te ccmme: he has C the , bottom. I' :-early proud 0: t1". i.s . Ttis is the fo e= preside"t of Evelyn Wood.

MR. TRtmEAU: It says, I feel you have moved one step beyonc speed reading -­ MR. EERG: That' s ::igh:.

MR. TRUDEAU; -- to speed learning. Brbging the discipline to the 21st first century.

MR. BERG; Exactly. Now, r' m preud of that. M:. TRUDEAU: So, what you I re actually have is really a revolutionary break through in what you I ve developed. MR. EERG: Totally different. , other programs were mechanical. That' 5 why they took 50 long. They required repet on. Like learning to type or playing an inst ment, to work.

MR. TRUDEAU: Right.

MR. EERG: And a lot of people found hey loss the speeds almost as quickly as they gai ed them. MR. TRUDEAU: Right.

MR. BERG: I read 80 to 90 pages a mi te a my speed. But I cor. ' tread 80 to 90 pages a m nute eve e ! es :::; ope:-. a beok. Semeti es I wa to :-e:-ax. Scme Ii =-e: wa:;:: ::= =':30 ::' bee.

:::: .. .. .. .. ; HOWARD S. BERG 1241 1226 Complaint EXHIBIT A MR. aERG: r have that opt on. i::: the ct:,e.: 2 prcg ams because it was conditioned, 11: ..as all or n::tr.ins. you slowed do that was the e:"d of your speed. A.'1d mest people told me they only got a very superficial understanding, like a skim.

m werking with companies like Pfizer (Phenetic), , Mobil Oil, that have high tech reading. And they used it because it was easy to retain complicated information. MR. TRL EAU: So, even the detailed complicated 10 material, people can read quickly d grasp it and comprehend it 11 and recall it.

MR. BERG: Over long periods of time.

MR. 7RL"DEAU: Now, how about students? :-cans straight 14, AE with less study time? MR. BERG: Not only do they get straight As with less dy time, but think about this, Kevin, they get better self esteem. They begin to feel confident. Now, you spend over lS, OOO hours when you go to school.

MR. TRUDEAU: Right.

MR. BERG: Think about that. And out af all of t ose 211 hou:-s and the people at home think about it, too, how ma..y .;f :: I t ose tau:-s did they spend teac ing you how to lea:­ :J I MR. ':Rt EA'J : Right.

"S. ,,G ':::ey call t a ucat cr. sys ' I ­ :.. ; : . . . Complaint 125 F.T. EXHIBIT A 1R. TR:'-;'EAU. Anc peop': cbv':CL:sly 1:J cus: ess ::s-::a' .1se you work with virtually dozen s of ma:o= c:rat:.:cr;s a::d ;- J::t U:1e 5 C a =o:r.pa:". es .

MR. BERG: All over he ccu MR. TR'U"DEAU; So, people ca ore mo ey eca there s so much mate= al to learn today, so much reacing t:.at people have to grasp.

MR. BERG: T have ar. interest ::g letter here i=o Pfei:fer. Pfeiffer s t eading p blisher the wor or. human resource training materials.

MR. TRUDEAU: Ckay.

MR. BERG: Every corporate trainer has heard of these people.

MR. TRt.LJEAU; Right.

MR. BERG: They hired me to train their edi tors nct only in how to speed read but how to make books easier to cornpre:.end, because my program teaches people how to de=stand text.

MR- TRUDEAU: Right.

MR. BERG: Not j US ur thro gh MR. TRlmEAU: Right.

MR. BERG: And the head ed e ma q e= =0= says ;; tha:: t:::s g=am that: gave gave ::;, a d:s: :-,c: ;=::g="-:c . a::' :=.ge :c :

:: . .. .. ,, ..: :: :. . .. . HOWARD S. BERG 1243 1226 Complaim EXHIBIT A MR. BERG: That s tr.e ecii of t or:d' largest hu ar. resource publisher. ::e::e I 5 a ':e te= from :he Yo:::", Prep Se1:oe1. The head master R':,,:". Stewar-t. ;':8 ' s ar: Oxford graduate. :1:':5 kr.ows education. MR. TRUDEAU: Rigr.

/o. BERG; You don t get be:ter than Cx:orc. And here \o';;=:: it says. owa:rd, just.. r.ote to let yo ow how positive he feedback w s of your lectures to the :::h and 12th grades. 30 positive in fact, that whe ever it' con\ ::client. fa:: you, :: would love - - ! :'ike that wc:-:J -- I would :e for you to come and do the ninth ,d tenth grG. ::s on a similar basis. And we r already booked th ON SCREN: :'0:: more ir.fo cc:ll: 1- 80 D - 2':3 96 6 6 . This is a paid commercial prcs::am for T Vantage Inte t:oral. MR. '!UDEAD: That I S great.. Folks, if you want mere information on Howard' s program, Mega Reading program, it.' s a anc home st cy course that. you can go t ocgh at your leisure will virtually release your own super reading speed, mega reading. You '11 be able to read almost as fast as Howard. Virtually quadr ple, five, ten times your reading speed risht no.. Call the number on yo = screen. d :' ve workec ou special arrangement with owa=d. e '11 give yew an over 58 of '1e p=::s=a::.. c, :.31 pe=::ent ciscount of: the regu2.a:: p:::.ce some c=e :. a::.cn :: r:.s:-. :JW' :::: set ;';0""' ':e:::3 - ':e: :3 _ : .::.:::.::_ :.:: :::::.:::::: .. . : , ::;; ..:: Complaint 125 FTC. EXHIBIT A g8t anotte:c be ok How c W rie ds d In:l ence ?ecple by Dale Carnegie. Grea t beok. Eve body should read this book. New, let' s see. ! went throug this last night and: qat chapter six. I want you to read the entire chapter six and give us a ick synopsis of the chapter.

Okay. Now m going to time you again. Atld folks. tte important thing is what Howard is saying is every single person -- now, you ve taught how many -- what thousands anc thousands of people? MR. BERG: Thm.:sands. Can I say something? MR. TRUDEAU: Yeah.

MR. BERG: I have a letter here from a girl who has brain damage.

MR. TRUDEAU: Right.

MR. BERG: Brain damage. She was in a car accident and half her brain stepped functioning. It was electrically dead. MR. TRUDEAU: Right.

MR. EERG: And she writes. It says that or. a coffee break in my word shop, she went three to 600 words per minute. This is someone with severe brain damage. So yes, it works for anyone. And you can t get worse t an that. MR. TRUDEAU: At what age, by the way? Hc''' old? XR. BERG: The ycu gest s: ever ;,ad was e:.gnt. v:'-:"" - "''2E :::::.:-r; a. ::. . .::-:-c.s:-. 2:-:: :.".€ ::5 ;0 :::. :0 3::. " - 0: ::2::,,:, ' .. :::.

HOWARD S. BERG 1245 1226 Complaint EXHIBIT A Ted said, ;'owayc. we wO' :rea::y: ve f0 ::0 cu= ele ::a col. My wife a::d I J l:S:: ac::'.pl ec. " MR. TRUDEAL' ; Rig:'1': .

"1R. BE:RG: '1d we thi:: do :: is foy our kids. I said, ow old are ::hey? He said ::::ird, four':h q:-ade. I said, it' kind of young. ally, in that age group I teach the 7 rnemo=y ar-d learr.ing skills. And r' ve dor.e tha: allover the country because a lot of kids aren t readir.g yet at that age. MR. TRUDEAU: Right.

MR. EERG: He said, our s':udents are reading and readily'g well. Let t ' t:y it. I said, fine. And ::"le parents came. How many things did pare::ts de today witt :their fami:ies? MR. TRUDEAU: Right, right right.

MR. EERG: Okay. At the end of the workshop, every child and parent had at east doubled except for one. MR. TRUDEAU: Uh- huh .

MR. BERG: hat child was reading at five seconds a page and I quizzed her.

MR. TRUDEAU: Five seconds.

MR. BERG: Fi ve seconds a page. And the vice principal was there.

MR. 7RUDEAiJ; d they ' re =eadi g it? MR. BERG: prehe dins ::. a ::e':a.::-. :.::s 1.':. :.:: ,:=.s::41 MR. :RtTIEA::. A2.: r': ;'ell, ' ::e I '"c. , co' 2:. '0-.. ., .. ._ ::: . .:: _ . .. . . Complaint 125 FTC. EXHIB IT A M."!, BERG; okay.

MR. TR:reau: e Ca:::-. egie s Eow :'0 "":":1 r:.e:-cs. Ready? M.J:. EERG: Yes.

MR. TRL'"EAt" : Go.

(Whereupon, there was a brief pause wiile XI. Berg wab reading the book.

MR. T;'UDEAU: This is a zir.g. You re reading it? Okay, give it back. That was about 16 seconds. MR. BERG: Right.

MR. TRt'TEAU: Okay. Now, tell us -- j st give me a quick s op5is of that chap MR. BERG: Well, the cor-cept was make people feel important and do it sincerely. And by the way, ;"evin, you I re doing an excellent job with this show and: really mean that. XR. TRt'DEAU: Tbank you very w.uc Okay, wait -­ you I re - - the name of that chapter by the way was, Hew To Get People o Like You.

MR. BERG: By the way, one of my favorite ses of speed reading is learnir.g new skills such as ! just showed yc MR. TRUDEAU: :"t .

MR. BERG: Lea cw to use a ute= or do be - - a:,.yt::i::g.23 ::elatic:,.shi;:s. So, :::':5 -- (i:'. ..c.i:::'e 7e:l 5 a :.- -­ I". 7?T,,::-C. 7:: - u._ . . .. : . g ..y , HOWARD S. BERG 1247 1226 Complaint EXHIBIT A MR. BERG: Ckay, it: s::arts c:: r.e cs:: office d he see s a pos:a employee rhat he s family:a= wit d the y look very veri depressed a cio And he s:arts talking to 4 the guy and fi ds out the g y feels tha: ncbody really appreciates what he s doing.

/'JL 7::u:EAU: Uh- ::'.l1.

MR. :S:RG; A.ld so, r.e starts tell:':"g the guy ::0\0' . important r.e i:; and how :m,,;ch apprecJ.ates h.lm. A!'1d 10 lus: perks r.d he says t s what it' s all about. You want 10: :,ecple to E. e you. Let the k:"oW how im? =tant they are and it ji .lmprOVes their-: self steem. they rele. e that to yo 23 the 12 cause.

MR. TRUDEAU: Uh- h'.;h. Now, what - - there was e principle discussed in this.

MR. E.ERG: Yes, the princip:e w s make people feel impor ant and be sincere.

MR. ':tmEAU: Make people feel important and - - now you just said almost verbatim. It says make people feel important and do it sincerely.

MR. EERG; Well, you may net get eve word. '!ou K:low when yeu ' re going a page and a half a 5 cend, you might: m S5 an L Okay.

MR. TR':'"E:U. Arly ac: ally. -- wa:.:' a m:.:n,;r:e. ..a:.: , qo: to cc e= DOOK ;;:: ? : ;;. :::: Complain! 125 FTC. EXHIBIT A MR. 7RUDEA':; Thi 5 bO:Jk by the way, s :5 my beok. is is my bock Kev n T udea ' 5, Mega emory. Everybody s culc ::ead tr. is bock. Everybocy go ou d set ::tis beok. It' 5 my book Mega Memory. Now, it' s the fi you k ow we so:'=: t!-::ee and a half million copies of my Mega Memory prog::am. MR. BERG: That' 5 a lot.

MR. :-UD2AU; Yeah, and this is a great book. .Just says published by Wi: iam Morrow. It I S in all the E=ok sto::es. Call, you can get it.

MR. BERG: Now, make the 0311.

MR. TRti"D:AU: Now, make the call now. !-: .:'w', I war. t you to read just chapter one.

MR. BERG: O!;;ay.

MR. TRUDEAU: Cn how to use this book, and then give quick synopsis on this. Not that we don I t t 5t you. Go. (Whereupon, there was a brief pause while HI. Berg was reading the book.

MR. BERG; Okay, that' s 11 pages.

MR. TRiJDEAU; About 16 seconds.

MR. EERG; Okay. And I' m getting clo$e c my s?eed. MR. TRUDEAU: And you read this? You read t:-is? BERG: Yes. It' s first ++ it sets the ::\.:-c :c.1l.es.

c a::ybc::y 10::0 ge s :.::.:s .1:-==e ::-:::: :: 2. - .: : .:: . . .. _. : . ._ . HOWARD S. BERG 1249 1226 Complaint EXHIBIT A MR. BE Tho sands of people are co "g wha JUs= did.

MR. TRL EAO: All risl'. ell me atcut t e beok. know all about because I just wrote it. MR. BERG: Okay. I guess you would k ow. This is 1 ike Regis and Katby Lee allover.

1R. ?RUDEAU: Ye.2. the aetb.or. Exact:tly. ay. MR. ZERG: Well, it starts off lking about w at you s::ould do to develop your r.=:-a memory, c.out setting up :specific time and place to do it, ' avoidi!':- certain food::, :.ow H ".ue,'1 me you sheuld be doi..:.Z, how to pre;:,:-2 yourself. Ani 12 that' 5 essentially what the first chapter is ut. Getting set. 13 MR. TRUDEAU: Now, there was four things r mentioned. 141 he four st,ps you go th=ough.

MR. EERG: Yes, there were. Let me think. First there J6 was unconscious incompetence, where you do ow what you cioir.g.

MR. TR EAU: Right.

MR. BERG: You don t even ow you don' t know wha t you re doing.

MR. ':RUDEAO: Right.

MR. BERG: The setond one was consc:cus COr:pe e;:c.e , wr.ere you knew ycu den know w1".a t you I r!: ::0:",. T?:'":V.;; . R:.r;r.

::. .... . _.. !: Complaint 125 FTC. EXHIBIT A was conscious competence, whe e you k ow what you I re de.::::; bu: you have to think about it. Sort of like when you ' =e rieing a bike a d you k ow you have :0 think how :0 stay cn the :ke MR. TR'L"DEAU: Right.

MR. BERG: And the fourth step was unconsc cus competence, where it' s at released skill and you re doing i:1stinctively. You don' t have to think about it. MR. TRUDEAU: hat' 5 the point I want to talk about. Because your course gets people very quickly to that unconscious competence level where it happens automatically. MR. BERG: In hours. In hours.

MR. TRUDEAU; So, it I 5 like learning how to rice a ike or learning how to swim. You den t have to practice and practice and practice. You just releasing the skill. MR. BERG: No. have story about that. MR. TRtJEAU: Hold for one second because want tell people how to get this program.

BERG: Okay. Okay.

MR. TRUDEAU: If people do want more info ation on Howard' s program The Mega Reading Harne Study Course - - folks ttis works for everybody. Thousands of people have gone thr ! highly endorse and recommend this program. Howa:rd is t J r wcr:d' 5 fastest reader. There is nothing out there Eke i:. 1 a:-. ::'::0:'1:::: :e:-. :-,;r,: i" ::::e 'World. :1 work for anyone a=OL:: '" 0 - ave a s: =en: .:n ' I ;:j, :::. : ; :;:. :._ .,. ..... :.,. :. . HOWARD S. BERG 1251 1226 Complaint EXHIBIT A ge: i: ttem. :f yeu :-e ':0 busi:,ess, .:t yeu reac pape:-s, ::ike :0 read ovels -.

I you M:. Belie: The Sunday paper. MR. TRlJ"DEAU: You 11 learn this :o:ratic:1 you 'll read it ickly and you 'll be able to recall it. the O'Jmber on your screer:. And again, we worked out a special arrangeme with Howard. You will get a 5D perce!'t discount while we re on tr:,; shew. You can call right now and get mere information on tr. :.s program. So, call ::he nUIT er.

MR. BERG: You mentioned how you don I t have to pra::tice.

MR. TR:' EAU; Right.

MR. BERG: I have an interesting story. Or. e of my students called me and was really ex::i ted. A grandmother and she lea ed how to do this at my live program and then she cii ' t use for like six weeks.

MR. TRUDEAu: Right.

MR. BERG: And with any speed reading program if yo don I t use it for six weeks, you can kiss it goodbye. It' 5 over. MR. TRUDEAU; Ri.ght.

MR. EERG; Her gra cscn came to her. He hac. a book 221 repor c he neeced her to e:? h m. She read t e book :. utes. He got an A. She sa.:::. Eowar::, : c.cn t: k . :-:e ::.::: . il :v.e, :" c;.:.: 'C' .e: .. . .. :;: : !: Complain! 125 FTC. EXHIBIT A about.t. You already have the abi ity. st s ns you tow to release it.

MR. TRUDEAU: Well, we ' re goi - - we J re going to test you again. ! keep testing yeu because t is is really impressive to me. All right, I get another book here. went to the 6 beck store and picked these up. Rush Li baugh, See I olc You So. I like Rush by the way. We advertise lot on his s ow. Rush is a reet guy.

':. BERG: Urn- hum.

/o. TRUDEAU: I have a personally auto aphed this book by the way.

HR. BERG: Do you? MR. TRUDEAU: Yes, Rush sent to me. Okay. I war. you to read a chapter here. Let me see if I can find the chapter about Rush. We went to Rus okay.

MR. BERG: Don ' t sh.

MR. TRUDEAU: Don t rush, don t t rush. Now, by the way, when I' m finding this chapter - - because I read things las night. Okay? MR. BERG: Yeah.

MR. TRUDEAU: Anybody can do t i5 I mentioned? MR. BERG: A.."lybody"

MR. TRUDEAU: d the age - - h2W o:d was the olcest 24 i ?e:-scn went his? =7, a=s =- = a . :: ;: :: : :::: . HOWARD S. BERG 1253 1226 Complaint EXHIBIT A Pasadena. And sie took tr-e pros am a d I tol them whe I ..,;S staying. :he next day in my hotel I get a pr.o e call and I say . what' 5 wrong. r said nobody calls me. Everybody learns it. MR. TRUDEAU': Right.

MR. EE?G; I say what r s the problem. She says r:c pro:'lem. ! just called to tel: you -- her name was Ruth. S::e says, Howard lent home after taking your =Dgram. years old and I read two 300 p=-ge books in \;:1=--=r tr.ree hours. m 83 years old.

MR. T;:::"DEAU: Wow.

MR. BERG: Do you know how happy I am? She says-, ! cion ' t know how much more time I have left, but there ' 5 so r..a:'Y things I want to cia and learn one. you' ve just given me the tools f=::- coing it.

MR. TRUDEAU: You, there are so many books ou there wi th so much ma erial that. - newspapers, publications for business people, you, magazines, publications they have to read, books and all these manuals. Learning computers. ':hick manuals.

MR. BERG: Thick manuals.

MR. TRlJDEATJ: You know, you were telling me that you learned compute n one night.

KR. EERG: That' s abscl t::-ue. : bo:.ghr: a:: ?::o (;:r.::::e::,ic:' e'/=:: saw c': l:ses a C:: ::e:o:"= . e :_ =5:: :: ; . ::: ,, . :: .: ::::. Complaint 125 FTC. EXHIBIT A MR. ':RL'DEA'J; Rigt: .

MR. BERG: I lear ed Words:ar, Da':aStar, 3:1C fo s:ar and publis ed an article the next cay. A."ld tl-.a':' 5 the :::1.t". And I' ll ::ell you a li:tle f nny sto=y.

MR. TRUDEAU: d anybody can do this, right':? MR. BERG; Anybody can do i,:. d wha t happene= was the margins weren' t perfect and I though: something was wrong. A."ld then someone said, do you know it takes 80 hours normally to de what you did in three. A."ld I said! guess I should feel a lit:le bit better then.

MR. TRUDEAU: Kow I by the way I before - - well, I want to de this test. I am going to have ODe ore test. Okay. got or:e more. This is the chapter. Put your finger in there. m going to get my little trusty -- this is for amazing cn :he time. Ready? MR. BERG: Yep.

MR. TRti'DEAL': Go.

(W:ereupon, there s a brief pause while Mr. Berg was reading the book.

MR. BERG: The pages are sticki okay. Well, that slowed me down a bit.

MR. 7Rt"!EA::: Okay, yeah. Sti:'l a.:out 17 seccr.cs. MR. BERG: Okay, I apolos ze fo that.

t.'"!:;:' Oka:,!. A:':: :-: :::' S R:..:s:-: S ;:cc. .;.. . .. ; . . HOWARD S. BERG 1255 1226 Complain! EXHIBIT A MR. BERG: The gist was hat gcve= mer. ' 5 toe big. We I ve got to make it smal:er and vote ccnse ative =epublica Okay. Eut he really has a lot of poi ts. He ta:ks about welfare ar.d how about 27 or 28 cents cut of eve collar gets to t reciprocate because the rest of t at is be r.g spe t on admir.istrati:n:: . And that ' an example how gcve ment waste lS nct he::ping us.

::. TRUDEAU: And that' s.- when you were cn Regis and Kathy, you had the author come You read the book. MR. BERG; (Inaudible) MR. TRUDEAU; And he gave you very tough questions. MR. BERG: I still remember one of the He asked me what did he say about - - let I 5 see. He asked me several questiorls. He asked me what did he say about the Pirates of Penzance. It was a trick question. 7he beok was called Going to Movies a d it was a vignette. Every two pages was a other movie. So, it wasn t a story. It was hundreds of little movie et':es .

MR. TRUDEAU: Right.

MR. BERG: And I said, Craig, that' s a trick estio Because i': wasn t -- ttere was c apter in there abc t a ciffere movie and the ?irates of ?enza ce was sed as an exa :e of how i:: the director hac the te or Pirates of Pe '14 I . - - ,,- :::5:e",:: ::: ::'e: es ::e ac C::058:: !:.:s ':C\" ':8 1.'01.:'::- I ! _. _ ,. ::;. :::: , .. :: . :: : ::::: Complaint 125F.T. EXHIBIT A ck me because that was ' t ever. what tr-e cta?te s a R. TRUDEAU: anybody can do this !'R. BERG: Anybocy. In fact, I had a blir.d s=uce t in 1 HUntsvil, Alabama.

MR. 1'UDEAU: Yeah.

MR. BERG: I swear to you it' s true.

MR. TRUDEAU: Wait a m.::iute. You can t read if you can I t see.

MR. BERG: She was reading in Braille. MR. 7R:" EAU; Oh, okay.

MR. BE::::: And she took the program t lea the emcry skills. Because a lot of people when they hear speed reading, they t ink fast reading. With Mega Reading it' s not just fast reading, it' s fast learning. Remember wha t Tcw y sale, it' 5 a complete accelerated learning program. d what I teach them is stor ng, retrievi!1g, recalling, focusing. Here ' 5 an important skill. owing what to look fo Hew many times have you s udied for a test -- people at heme. You study for a test, you take the test and none of the questio you studied are asked. Everything else t ey ask. You go to an i:nportant meeting and everyt in9 you though t was impc:-::ant was net asked.

Well. if yeu dc :: knew what to look :c:- yC:; ,:--= :;c:':1S :::'S5 :.: A.-.:: ! tea:::: :.:q-..::e C' =0 ­ .._ , .. ::: : ,, . .. . .. HOWARD S. BERG 1257 1226 Complaint EXHIBIT A est g to note beca se obviously here are so y books out there, like Wealth Without Risk by Charles Give (phonetic) which is a phe omenal book, How to Attract Anyone y:ime by J.san Rave:J (phcne:icl, Les Erown (phenetic), Live Your Dreams. here are so ma!1Y phenomenals out -- Mary 1: Ash (phar:etic:) and ,.e can do 31: of these.

M:. SERG: No.

MR. T t.j'DEAU: (Inaudible) .

MR. BERG: could.

10 ! 1'. TRuwEAU: Yeah.

11" We: that' this is the amazing thing. How ?out 12" learning David Letterman s top ten list. 13 MR. BERG: I did a Ehow America ' 5 Talking about a year 14 go. They had e read 18 700 page books in an hour and alf r.d they q izzed me on them and I got every question right. MR. TRUDEAU: Well, like - - I got La ry King' s took. goe Bill Gates book. goe Colin Power. gee nc\' the Internet fer Dummies people wane :earY how :-J.'1 ehe Internet. goe here magazines.

MR. BERG: the way, Forbes Magazine jus:: C.:O article on this.

MR. TR\reau: No kidCing.

MR. BERG: Fo=bes said this s a wor.c.e=:'..l ;:::cg:=am :0:: =l..si.:-.

- go: .o . . . .. ,,. , : ....::.. .,. : . ;. :: .. ,, . . Complaint 125 F. EXHIBIT A 1 ' , how about bi9':ogy. I :r.ean .: OOiC a:. - - :'01k5, lock. a: t!1ese books. A."1d I' m putting .r.ese a1': nr me just to show . you the poi the=e. Ca:;culus. Now, you ' ::e telling me is is what Kids have to go th::ough In sc ool.

MR. BERG; Right.

MR. TRtJ"DEAU; Look at t!1is beok. They have =eac this. You I re telling me - - r know this is a ess here. But i.f a pe::son calls and gets your program, they 'll be able to go through these books. Now, let I 5 be !1onest here. I got all these books here. 10 See if you can get a wide shot of this. I got Heward Stern ' 5 book. I was invited to Howard Ste=n s birthday party. MR. BERG: I read his beok Private Parts in six mlnutes on Comedy Central and then he tested me on the book and: go right.

!o. TRUDEAU: Howard did? MR. BERG: Right.

MR. TRUDEAU: Howard did? MR. EERG: I was on Jor Stewart' (phonetic) show a Howard was the est. He had just written Private ?ar It I S as thick as this bock.

MR. ':R';;,DE.":: Ris:': .

MR. EERG. :t took me ! thi six c a tal: mi es t .s :::-;:-. read a c t en he iz=ed and - sot all t est:.c:-, M5. : .s:::-,e.: C'- - 0: "'. ; ,,_ ,:: .:: HOWARD S. BERG 1259 1226 Complaint EXHIBIT A New York Ti.:nes :these ccks, ;:.CW _ 8:;S WC' ",ke :'::er, :0 do that? Fi:-st. It takes ':. '1em a :ew h::\.::s ':0 :'=a=:; :he :ec:-..-:':q'.:e Ri::fr.t? MR. BERG: : wo ld -- it j s: takes a::c\.t ::::-,=e three. four 1:0U=5 to lear t::e tec .:e. MR. RUDEAU: ari,ally it wc\.ld take wr.at a week? Two, three weeks? A r. dred hours to learn a:1 this s:' .:ff -- L:: go through all this stuff? MR. BERG: I would say fer the average persor. that would be being kind.

MR. ':RUDEAU: maybe 15D to 200 hours? MR. BERG: I'd say several months for some of the science books for certain people.

MR. TRUDEAU: That r 5 right because that' s all seier.tifie.

MR. BERG: It' not. jus:: :ight readir.g the=-e. MR. TRUDEAU; A person calls and ge:5 yeu= p long? MR. BERG: : 'd say you could do that easi::y In a': ;.eas': a moot:' tops. Two weeks to a month depenc ng upor. yo\.:­ background, MR. 7R EA':J: Felics you r:ea c tb. YOt. ;:20:; ca'::: r::::nt now get Howa d' 5 pros am, rt takes :t.5t a :ew 5:"'0:-:' "'C\.:-5, easy. 1::: 5 :' A.:.y::cc.y ::a:: : at. ::e :':-. =2a: 3: =:::' =sa:' =::a_ :s:

Complaint 125 F. EXHIBIT A time. You l make mere mo ey in b ess because yo'! :::: be a:Jle to reme e= all the informatic Ca2.1 the nurne:: cn y::)'..:: sc::een. Y01. ' 11 get a 50 per-cent discount to boot This is Kevi T::udeau thanks fer watching. his has been anotne:: eei tion 0: Vantage Point.

ON SCREN; For more information or to or::'S:: Eowa=c 7 Berg ' 5 Mega Reading call: :'-800.283- 5666. Tru-Vantage Internation 7300 Lehig Avenue, Niles, Ii. 60714 (847) 647- 0300.

The proceedir.g has been a paid advertise ent =or ru- Vantage nternational.

upon. he taping was included. HOWARD S. BERG 1261 1226 Decision and Order DECISION AND ORDER The Federal Trade Commssion having initiated an investigation of certain acts and practices of the respondent named in the caption hereof, and the respondent having been furnished thereafter with a copy of a draft of complaint which the Chicago Regional Office proposed to present to the Commission for its consideration and which, if issued by the Commssion, would charge respondent with violations of the Federal Trade Commssion Act; and The respondent, his attorney, and counsel for the Commssion having thereafter executed an agreement containing a consent order an admission by the respondent of all the jurisdictional facts set forth in the aforesaid draft of complaint, a statement that the signing of said agreement is for settlement purposes only and does not constitute an admission by respondent that the law has been violated as alleged in such complaint, and waivers and other provisions as required by the Commission s Rules; and The Commssion having thereafter considered the matter and having determined that it had reason to believe that the respondent has violated the said Act, and that complaint should issue stating its charges in that respect, and having thereupon accepted the executed consent agreement and placed such agreement on the public record for a period of sixty (60) days, and having duly considered the comments filed thereafter by interested persons pursuant to Section 34 of its Rules, now in further conformity with the procedure prescribed in Section 2. 34 of its Rules, the Commssion hereby issues its complaint, makes the following jurisdictional findings and enters the following order:

1. Respondent Howard S. Berg resides at 1001 Greenbriar Lane McKinney, TX.

2. The acts and practices of the respondent alleged in this complaint have been in or affecting commerce, as " commerce " is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act. 3. The Federal Trade Commssion has jurisdiction of the subject matter of this proceeding and of the respondent, and the proceeding is in the public interest.

, Decision and Order 125 FTC. ORDER DEFINITONS For purposes of this order, the following definitions shall apply: 1. "Competent and reliable scientific evidence shall mean tests, analyses, research, studies, or other evidence based on the expertise of professionals in the relevant area, that has been conducted and evaluated in an objective manner by persons qualified to do so, using procedures generally accepted in the profession to yield accurate and reliable results.

2. Unless otherwise specified reopondent shall mean Howard S. Berg, individually and his agents, representatives and employees. 3. " Commerce shall mean as defined in Section 4 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U. c. 44.

It is ordered, That respondent, directly or through any corporation, subsidiary, division, or other device, in connection with the labeling, advertising, promotion, offering for sale, sale, or distribution of Howard Berg s Mega Reading or any substantially similar product in or affecting commerce, shall not represent, in any manner, expressly or by implication, that such product is successful in teaching anyone, including adults, children and disabled individuals, to increase their reading speed above 800 words per minute while substantially comprehending and retaining the material. For purposes of this Part substantially similar product" shall mean any product that is substantially similar in components, techniques composition and properties.

II.

It is further ordered That respondent, directly or through any corporation, subsidiary, division, or other device, in connection with the labeling, advertising, promotion, offering for sale, sale, or distribution of any product or program purported to significantly increase one s reading speed in or affecting commerce, shall not make any representation, in any manner, expressly or by implication about the benefits, performance, or efficacy of such product, unless at the time the representation is made, respondent possesses and relies upon competent and reliable evidence, which when appropriate HOW ARD S. BERG 1263 1226 Decision and Order must be competent and reliable scientific evidence, that substantiates the representation.

It is further ordered, That respondent Howard S. Berg shall, for five (5) years after the last date of dissemination of any representa­ tion covered by this order, maintain and upon request make available to the Federal Trade Commission for inspection and copying: A. All advertisements and promotional materials containing the representation;

B. All materials that were relied upon in disseminating the representation; and C. All tests, reports, studies, surveys, demonstrations, or other evidence in their possession or control that contradict qualify, or call into question the representation, or the basis relied upon for the representation, including complaints and other communications with consumers or with governmental or consumer protection organizations.

IV.

It is further ordered That respondent Howard S. Berg, for a period of ten (10) years after the date of issuance of this order, shall notify the Commssion of the discontinuance of his current business or employment, or of his affiliation with any new business or employment. The notice shall include respondent's new business address and telephone number and a description of the nature of the business or employment and his duties and responsibilities. All notices required by this Part shall be sent by certified mail to the Associate Director, Division of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D. It is further ordered That respondent Howard S. Berg shall within sixty (60) days after the date of service of this order, and at such other times as the Federal Trade Commssion may require, file with the Commission a report, in writing, setting forth in detail the manner and form in which it has complied with this order. Decision and Order 125 FTC. VI.

This order will tennnate on June 8, 2018, or twenty (20) years from the most recent date that the United States or the Federal Trade Commssion files a complaint (with or without an accompanying consent decree) in federal court alleging any violation of the order whichever comes later; provided, however, that the fiing of such a complaint wil not affect the duration of:

A. Any Part in this order that terminates in less than twenty (20) years;

B. This order s application to any respondent that is not named as a defendant in such complaint; and C. This order if such complaint is fied after the order has tennnated pursuant to this Part.

Provided, further, that if such complaint is dismissed or a federal court rules that the respondent did not violate any provision of the order, and the dismissal or ruling is either not appealed or upheld on appeal, then the order wil terminate according to this Part as though the complaint had never been filed, except that the order will not terminate between the date such complaint is fied and the later of the deadline for appealing such dismissal or ruling and the date such dismissal or ruling is upheld on appeal.

By the Commission.

1 Prior to leaving the Commssion, former Commssioner Azcuenaga registered a vote in the affnnativc for this Decision & Order.

DEGUSSA AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT, ET AL. 1265 1265 Complaint