CompTIA v. TroyTec Settled; Company Pulls CompTIA-Related Products from Site, Denies Wrongdoing
12/19/2001 -- The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) has settled its second lawsuit this year against a test prep company it accused of violating the organization's copyright by allegedly selling study materials containing questions that appear on CompTIA exams.
The organization filed suit against Troy Technologies USA and its owner, Garry L. Neale, in the United States District Court, Western District of Texas on Nov. 28 (The Computing Tech v. Neale 5:01cv1078). The case was settled earlier this month.
CertCities.com was unable to obtain the complete terms of the settlement before press time. We attempted to reach both sides for comment on this story. Neale, who earlier this year dissolved his Troy Technologies USA DBA and formed TestKiller LTD, did not respond to our request for comment, but did release the following statement on the Troytec.com Web site, in which the company denies any wrongdoing:
Troy Technologies USA ("Troy") has recently settled a dispute with The Computing Technology Industry Association, Inc. ("CompTIA") regarding certain study guides that Troy previously sold pertaining to various certification exams offered by CompTIA. Specifically, CompTIA alleged that Troy's study guides for CompTIA's A+ Hardware, A+ Operating Systems, Network+, and I-Net+ certification exams violated CompTIA's copyright and trademark rights, among other rights. Without admitting any wrongdoing and, in the interest of ending the dispute and avoiding controversy, Troy has agreed to cease distributing any study guides directed to CompTIA's exams pursuant to a stipulated court order. Accordingly, Troy will no longer offer any study guides for any of the CompTIA certification exams.
CompTIA was unable to respond to our request for comment by press time, but a spokesperson said that the company should be prepared to make an official statement shortly.
It is unknown whether the names of those who bought the study guides were given to CompTIA as part of the settlement terms. This was a condition of the settlement in CompTIA's suit against Keen Interactive's Cheet-Sheets.com, which was settled earlier this fall (click here for story). CompTIA posted a statement regarding its motives behind this settlement condition on its Web site.
The Cheet-Sheets.com site went down a few weeks after its settlement was reached, and has yet to go back online. CertCities.com has been unable to verify whether the company has gone out of business or if the site is down for other reasons, like technical issues.
CertCities.com will bring you more on this story as it develops. -B.N.
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There are 103  user Comments for “CompTIA v. TroyTec Settled; Company Pulls CompTIA-Related Products from Site, Denies Wrongdoing”
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| 12/22/01: Anonymous says: |
It's kind of funny really, I passed CNE six years ago, I never took any classes, I just knew the product. I looked at MCSE under NT4 after 3 years working with NT, and the questions had no basis in reality (or knowledge of the product.) In fact I couldn't pass a transcender test! After day 1 in a boot camp I passed all of them above 90%. All I can conclude is that the MCSE and microsoft have no desire to evaluate ability to perform in the field, rather, use their ability to certify individuals to promote their particular view (The answer that makes Novell look bad is *always* right) By the way I am MCSE 4, MCSE 2k and (still) a CNE. And I think all of the certs are fundamentally worthless. |
| 12/22/01: Anonymous says: |
This whole industry sucks!! I agree with a majority of the submitters that certs are a waste of time. I am tired of my employer saying he doesn't know if I can do my job unless I have a cert that says I can do it. (Note to my boss: It was I who got your damn laptop working after you deleted some key dll files to free up some disk space). I currently run a mid-size LAN and have over 7 certs, yet do I get any respect or extra pay from my employer? NO!! I've been looking for a new job for about 6 months and have been told that the certs are nice for framing, but really mean nothing and my 3 years of experience is not enough. I will be so glad when the economy improves so that I could tell some of those dicks to shove their jobs. |
| 12/22/01: Anonymous says: |
Ladies and germs. What you have here is the same old problem. Book smarts vs. hands-on skills. It is very difficult to 'test' an individual on her/his real-time work skills. Right? Book smart people have been challenging the education industry for years on that very subject. Re-cert? I don't think so. Here's a suggestion for the REAL EMPLOYERS out there; in conjunction with Micro$oft Billy and any other 'need to be certified app./OS mftr.' The automotive / heavy-equipment area of education has had tremendous success with it. Yeah, you got it !! Training and education go hand in hand. That's how the 'back-yard' mechanic slipped into near extinction. Only the genuine article can pass a test without books. Those individuals are rare. They are usually the people that migrate to racing, designing in custom shops, and the like. You know where I'm going with this. For those who don't. Here it is. You find a job (you have your first cert, an A+ or not.) with a reputable employer who is willing to continue your training as you work. (we've all heard of this wonderland tale, haven't we?) This employer sends you out (according to your original agreement/contract) once a year for your cert. training. Here's the rub. The employer/employee agreement/contract should have a stipulation that you have two chances to pass. If you don't, you get the proverbial punt!! BTW: This same employer will only give you a raise in pay for the certs that were earned under their corporate wings. Sounds hokey, or too controlling? There we are, back to the 'dog eat dog' thing again. Nobody wants to climb the ladder with everyone else. They want to be top-dog tommorrow, any way possible. That's a criminal mind. NOW I'VE STIRRED THE HORNET'S NEST, HUH? Bottom line. There only so many jobs to go around and only so much money to pay for them, IN THE REAL WORLD. As a 'techy', how many times have you gone to a client's place of business and seen that they have 'Old Technology'; ISA computers, clunky tape backups, Win9x boxes. These computers have 3 to 5 GB drives and maybe 64 Megs RAM. Many CEO's balk at having to spend a dime for your services, let alone listen to you telling them that their security is bad and can't be remedied until they upgrade their servers. (at the very minimum) This 'APPRENTICESHIP' thought aggravates every book-smart geek out there. This 'APPRENTICESHIP' thought does have one more catch. If the corporations (M$, etc.) embraced it, they would only have to approach the proper channels of their U.S. Gov. / State Gov. officials for a resolution to have it etched in stone. When that happened, you (the prospective employer / employee) would finally have a structured hierarchy for training and education. There would be a fallout of job stability, workmanship (read that pride in their job) and, last but not least, the national product mftrs. would see an increase in product quality. What say you, America? |
| 12/22/01: Nick says: |
You guys just don't get it. There are no shortcuts. If you want to get into IT, then instead of spending time, money, constant spin, lies & progranda, get the proven certificate: A BS degree in Computer Science. There are no other shortcuts. Anyone who thinks that ANY certification will get them a modicum of an IT job related job is either: delusional, stupid or both |
| 12/22/01: Mr. says: |
What say you america? DREAM ON. IT AIN'T GOING TO HAPPEN. Forget wasting time and money on worthless certs. Get a BS degree, which will get your foot in the door and a nice career in IT. What part of the above don't you understand? |
| 12/22/01: SAD says: |
WOW, I simply can not believe the poop tht spill from your people mouths! I use Troy Tec,Exam Cram, and Sybex< to pass my CCNA,MCSE 2000,MCDBA 2000,ORACLE 8 NETWORKING,and A+. I have about 6 years experiene. I do not see it as cheat when I an troubleshooting problem that people with out certs and with cert who went to boot camp and the who paid thousands of bucks for so call train centers could not do why on cause I can read and figure out(Thank God) 75-85 percent of the clients needs,but I thank you smug, joker still have a problem, why because most of you who comment make excuse why you can not pass the exam and then hate other who do. Most people can even trouble shot error themselves. For example I had a train guy tell me how to install 2000 via RIS and then when I informed this guy he would have to create GPO,and OU for proper installation on our syustem he trying to use the paper cert thing,guess what I was right, why because like the trois and everything else I study our system found out we had strict naming profiles and roaming users, I was correct,but I guess I was a paper Cert. Look people get of you butt and take the exams, by the way I have A BA and am working on my masters. I do not have time for stupid people who refuse to see they are no short cut in any thing that we do! People still have to work hard, but I think you all do not see the value of that I guess you all are so smart that you have all the answer and that is why a lot of tech we laid off. The one thing that I learnd working in the IT feild is that there are more than to resolve a users isssue and I use this in my own life. Do not blame troy tec for you lack of drive or you prefered study method. Blam those who can not do there job. Again paper cert are a myth it is can you do the job for me and you people are seeing this basic truth! |
| 12/23/01: .respond to sad sack says: |
I agree with you, bottom line is once your working is can you perform and do the job. People open your eyes, everyone is so concerned about how someone else does passes their cert. Who cares! Everyone seems so concerned about everyone else except themselves! You need a hobby. |
| 12/23/01: Anonymous says: |
I have a BS/IS, MCSE+I, CCNA, CCDA, and several other exams. They are all paper! Paper is what gets you into the door for an interview. The interview allows you to get the job. And finally, your ability to do the job helps retain you. That's it people! Paper, knowledge, and skill/experience. If you lack any one of these, you quickly fail. Every piece of paper and cert I own is worth nothing compared to what I can and have done in the technical field. I know more than the average IT/IS person, and as I learn more, the more I realize that I don't know. A Troytec, Transcender, ExamCram, etc are all excellent tools to inform you of what you need to know in order to pass an exam and what you need to learn in order to become a better IT pro. I have yet to meet anyone who has claimed that they were hired solely due to their certs. If I ever do discover someone as such, I am sure they will tell me about how short their first few employments were. I believe in four key elements for success in the IT field: 1. Books, books, and more books. 2. Paper certs for the resume. 3. Technet. 4. A decent test lab. Remember that it is never what you know, but what you can accomplish. Do any paper or real experience IT pro's know everything? I would take a paper cert that knows how to use Technet, communicate with co-workers, and determined to complete the job any day over someone that thinks they know everything and is convinced that a cert is worthless. Certs are worth two things: 1. They prove that are not completely lazy at least capable of learning new material. 2. They identify that you understand the MINIMUM necessary knowledge for a subject. That's right people. A cert has never been about knowing everything or really being an 'expert' on a subject. It just tells people that you have the 'basic' and 'minimum' knowledge of a subject. Don't worry about what is technically 'cheating'. What is the difference between an Exam Cram, Transcender, TroyTec, and Microsoft's test samples? Yes, that is right, Microsoft has made 'sample' tests in the past also. And just in case no one noticed, Transcender is supported by Microsoft and CompTIA now where TroyTec isn't. Does anyone remember when Transcender was in trouble with Microsoft about four or five years ago. Sounds really similar to TroyTec and CompTIA today. Anyways, people need to stop being concerned about everyone else. I am not concerned about any paper MCSE, etc. Actually, I think they make great pupils. They don't know crap, they make peanuts for income, and they create a huge market for people like me. It is easy to charge $60/hr to clean up a $30/hr paper job. :) |
| 12/23/01: ME says: |
Maddog is a rube |
| 12/23/01: Frustrated IT Geek says: |
Almost anybody can be a Network Admistrator with a descent coomon knowledge of computer networking and efficient usage of the Internets resources. Some of you make too much out of a service whore position. Just likeLaughing IT pro said...it is just paper to get you in the door and usually some stupid overqualified requirements like a BS in Comp. Sci. and 5 or more years WORKING experience. What the hell is that all about. Almost any IT professional can tell you that everyday is a brand new learning troubleshooting experience that 10 yrs might not teach you. And another thing, most of the damn certification tests are not testing you on common tasks and troubleshooting. It' sallways some exotic cryptic crap that rarely happens and a lot of times the tessting company's are wrong with the answer. They do that to try an get you to fail to get you to spend money twice or three times taking the test again. So the other side could be considered cheaters also. Nuff said.... |
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