REGULARLY UPDATED: Links to over 500 articles (and radio and TV broadcasts) by publishers including the FT, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Dow Jones Newswires, Bloomberg, New York Times, CNBC, Forbes, plus UK House of Commons Select Committee Hansard records, U.S. SEC website records, and legal documents filed in U.S. Courts — all containing references to the Donovans, their Shell-related websites, or their former company Don Marketing. Syndicated duplicates removed except where published by a prestigious outlet (New York Times, Washington Post, Guardian, Bloomberg, Financial Times, etc.).
Background: Alfred Donovan’s Essex garage business held a Shell supply relationship from 1957. His company Don Marketing partnered with Shell on promotional games 1981–1991. Disputes over intellectual property rights led to four settled lawsuits and the registration of royaldutchshellplc.com, which attracted the coverage below spanning 40+ years. Shell’s WIPO attempt to recover the domain (Case D2005-0538) failed in August 2005. In all, over 550 externally published references to date, plus references in 110 books.
Contents
1981–1991: The Shell Partnership (23 articles) | 1992–1999: Dispute & Litigation (58+ articles) | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 Onwards | 110 Books | TV, Radio & Video
1981–1991: The Shell Partnership — 23 Articles
During this period Don Marketing and Shell operated as close commercial partners. Don Marketing invented and ran a series of highly successful petrol forecourt promotional games for Shell across Britain and internationally. All coverage is positive trade press reporting on joint activity.
Rubbing away to goodwill — Incentive Marketing and Sales Promotion, November 1983
Early trade press feature on Don Marketing’s scratchcard game concepts for Shell forecourts.
Fast flowing Don — Marketing Magazine, 16 February 1984
Profile of Don Marketing and its expanding roster of Shell promotional games.
Shell is back making money — Incentive Marketing and Sales Promotion, March 1984
Coverage of the relaunched Shell Make Money scratchcard game.
The Finale: Interview with Shell Manager Ken Danson — Shell In-house Magazine, March 1984
Interview on the promotional games partnership with Don Marketing.
Anatomy of a Shell winner — Campaign Magazine, 27 April 1984
Campaign’s analysis of the Shell Make Money game’s commercial success.
The play’s the thing — Marketing Magazine, 31 May 1984
Feature on Don Marketing’s game design philosophy and Shell partnership.
Marketing Magazine Sales Promotion Survey — 6 September 1984
Don Marketing and Shell games featured.
Why games became big business — Campaign Magazine, 14 September 1984
Wider industry analysis citing Don Marketing / Shell as the benchmark.
Cerebral promotion for drivers: Shell Mastermind — Trade Press, September 1984
Trade coverage of the Shell Mastermind game.
“Shell starts up a new promotion” (Shell Make Merry) — Marketing Week, 2 November 1984 — [POS Display]
Launch coverage of Shell Make Merry with point-of-sale display.
Don Marketing launches dual forecourt attack — Campaign Magazine, 2 November 1984
Campaign covers the simultaneous Shell Make Merry and second-game launch.
Shell offers ‘lucky deal’ — Marketing Magazine, 2 May 1985
Launch coverage of Shell Bruce’s Lucky Deal game.
Old favourites that never die — Campaign Magazine, 14 June 1985
Feature on the longevity of Don Marketing’s Shell game formats.
Don does it again, this time with Bruce — Promotions & Incentives Magazine, June 1985
Dedicated feature on Shell Bruce’s Lucky Deal.
It’s game, set and match as forecourts fight it out to the finish — Campaign Magazine, 27 September 1985
Industry analysis of the petrol forecourt promotional games market; Don Marketing / Shell as market leaders.
Learning the right rules of the game — Marketing Week Magazine, 11 October 1985
In-depth feature on promotional game mechanics; Don Marketing central.
John Chambers has left Don Marketing and game cards to set up a new sales promotion operation for the world’s sixth largest ad agency — Promotions & Incentive Magazine, February 1986
Don plans huge bingo promotion — Marketing Week, 7 February 1986
Don Marketing announces next-generation bingo-format game.
Marketing Magazine article “Games people play” involving John Donovan — 18 September 1986
Feature on the future of promotional gaming.
Shell launches Star Trek scratchcard game — Sales Promotion Magazine, March 1991
Launch article for the final major Shell / Don Marketing collaboration: the Shell Star Trek game.
Will Shell’s intergalactic experiment pay off? — Promotions & Incentives Magazine, July–August 1991
Cover story plus seven pages of coverage with extensive colour photography of the Shell Star Trek scratchcard promotion. The last major game in the Don Marketing / Shell partnership.
Shell Star Trek Promotion — Promotions & Incentives Magazine, February 1992
Follow-up coverage on results and performance of the Star Trek game.
Up to Scratch — Promotions & Incentives Magazine, June 1993
Retrospective industry feature on scratchcard technology and games; Don Marketing referenced.
1992–1999: The Dispute & Litigation Era — 58+ Articles
Following the end of the Shell promotional games partnership, a dispute arose over intellectual property rights and Shell’s use of concepts developed by Don Marketing. This period produced extensive trade press coverage across Marketing Magazine, Marketing Week, Campaign, Incentive Today, Promotions & Incentives, Forecourt News, Forecourt Trader, and the national press. Don Marketing issued four writs against Shell; Shell settled out of court each time.
New DPP ruling: plain paper entries are ‘legal and acceptable’ — Promotion & Incentives Magazine, February 1992, Page 4
Shell faces libel threat from Don — Marketing Week, 31 March 1994
First major trade press report of the developing dispute between Don Marketing and Shell.
Shell struck by writ — Marketing Magazine, 20 October 1994 — Front-page headline
Marketing Magazine leads on Don Marketing issuing legal proceedings against Shell.
Shell stole intellectual property, alleges Don — Debrief Newsletter, November 1994
Debrief reports Don Marketing’s core intellectual property claim against Shell.
Don issues writ number four to embattled Shell — Marketing Magazine, 10 November 1994
Shell Shock: Editorial by Incentive Today Magazine — November/December 1994
Incentive Today editorial comment on the Don v Shell dispute.
Shell fails to block agency’s legal action — Incentive Today Magazine, January 1995
Shell ‘legal block fails’ in promotions agency row — Forecourt News, January 1995
Promotion Wrangle: Forecourt Trader uncovers the background to the legal dispute between Shell (UK) Ltd and promotions company Don Marketing UK (Ltd) — Forecourt Trader, January 1995
Don Marketing trade ad seeks help of dealers — Marketing Magazine, 12 January 1995
Don Marketing places trade advertisements appealing to Shell dealers for evidence.
Marketing Week News — 20 January 1995
Irate Don hits Shell investors — Marketing Week, 27 January 1995
Don Marketing steps up its attack on Shell — Debrief, February 1995
Pressure group to target Shell — Forecourt Trader, February 1995
‘Shell knew of flaws in Make Money’ — Forecourt News, February 1995 — Front page
Marketing Week News — 24 February 1995
Shell seeks guarantee over costs in Don case — Marketing Week, 24 March 1995
Shell promotions dispute intensifies — Promotions & Incentives, April 1995
Shell: ‘claim will fail’ — Incentive Today, April 1995
Shell row steps up a gear — Forecourt News, April 1995
Stop Press: Don Marketing founder Alfred Donovan has issued a libel writ — Marketing Magazine, 20 April 1995
Alfred Donovan personally issues a libel claim against Shell.
Shell faces libel action as Don’s founder issues writ — Marketing Week, 21 April 1995
Shell speaks out over Don — Forecourt Trader, April 1995
Donovan issues Shell libel writ — Promotions & Incentive Magazine, May 1995
Briefly Column — Forecourt News, May 1995
Stop Press: Shell has confirmed that its senior management will hold talks with Don Marketing — Marketing Magazine, 25 May 1995
Don takes its payment fight to Shell’s AGM — Marketing Week, 26 May 1995
Alfred Donovan confronts Shell management at the annual general meeting.
Marketing Week News: John Donovan, of sales promotion agency Don Marketing… — 2 June 1995
“Will have a team picketing Shell’s London headquarters for four days a week”
David Don and Goliath Shell: Episode 3,651 — Debrief Newsletter, June 1995, Page 63
Debrief’s running commentary headline on the dispute.
Lucky Numbers — Incentive Today, July/August 1995
Substantial feature including John Donovan on scratch card game mechanics, security, and the industry.
Extract: “Donovan quoting a cost of 4p per card to run a scratch card promotion… cards printed in the United States by printers Dittler Brothers, who are specialists in printing scratch and lottery tickets and even have armed guards securing their plant.”
Shell UK and Don Marketing — Marketing Week, 8 September 1995
Debrief Newsletter — October 1995
Shell faces High Court battle over Smart Card — Marketing Week, 16 April 1998 — Front-page cover story
Marketing Week leads on Don Marketing’s new legal action over the Shell Smart loyalty card scheme.
Shell card in legal row — Financial Mail on Sunday, 19 April 1998
National press picks up the Smart card dispute.
Don Marketing booking full-page ads to alert Shell shareholders to its dispute with Shell — Marketing Magazine, 23 April 1998
High Court papers unveil ‘secret’ Shell writ losses — Marketing Week, 23 April 1998
Shell reveals plans for challenging Smart writ — Marketing Week, 30 April 1998
Donovan brings new Shell writ — this time for libel — Marketing Magazine, 30 April 1998
Shell stands firm on Smart charges — Promotions & Incentives, May 1998
Don’s Smart writ — Forecourt Trader, May 1998
New clash for Don Marketing and Shell — Incentive Today Magazine, May 1998
ASA dragged into Shell UK Smart battle — Marketing Week Magazine, 7 May 1998
Shell broadens base — Marketing Magazine, 7 May 1998
Shell in legal row — Sales Promotion Magazine, May 1998
Shell faces new threat to Smart card scheme — Marketing Week, 21 May 1998
Shell: Don is more than ‘disgruntled’ — Marketing Week Letters, 21 May 1998
Shell’s response published in Marketing Week letters column.
Don Marketing posts warning about Shell — Marketing Week Magazine, 28 May 1998
Shell Smart copyright battle gets nastier — Loyalty Magazine, May/June 1998
Safe Ideas — June 1998
Donovan’s beef with Shell online — Daily Telegraph, 11 June 1998
The Telegraph reports on Don Marketing taking the dispute to the internet; an early online activism story.
Don Claims first round in Shell libel action — Marketing Week, 30 July 1998
“McShell” case continues — Loyalty Magazine, August 1998
On cyberpicket lines — London Evening Standard, 28 September 1998
Subheadline: “Don’t get mad, get even” — the Evening Standard covers the Donovans’ early internet campaigning as a new form of corporate pressure.
Shell smacked over libel action — Incentive Today Magazine, September 1998
Judge Shell by actions not words — Marketing Week, 25 February 1999
Shell loyalty row continues — Incentive Today, June 1999
Donovan takes Smart case against Shell to court — Sunday Business, 6 June 1999
Promotions expert claims Shell stole his Smart card idea — Sunday Telegraph, 6 June 1999
The Sunday Telegraph covers the High Court proceedings.
Shell faces court battle on its Smart scheme — Marketing Magazine, 10 June 1999
Ideas man sues Shell — The Times, 16 June 1999
The Times national coverage of the High Court action.
Oil giant stole my promotion idea, alleges businessman — East Anglian Daily Times, 16 June 1999
Into battle with Shell — Bury Free Press, 18 June 1999
Local press in the Donovans’ home county covers the High Court proceedings.
Shell in High Court suit over Smart card scheme — Debrief, July 1999
Don ends legal proceedings against Shell UK — Marketing Week, 8 July 1999
Shell settles out of court.
Shell has settled out of court with John Donovan… — Marketing Magazine, 28 July 1999 — Stop Press Column
Shell claim is settled — Bury Free Press, 9 July 1999
Stalemate for marketing firm’s ‘stolen’ idea claim — East Anglian Daily Times, 7 July 1999
Shell action abandoned — Forecourt Trader, August 1999
Don and Shell end Smart row — Incentive Today, July–August 1999
Shell in High Court suit over Smart card scheme — WARC, 1 August 1999
Industry database records the settlement.
Speak Out! — West Pasco Press Newspaper (Florida, USA), November 1999, Page 2
Alfred Donovan interviewed for comment in Florida. US local press coverage of the dispute’s resolution.
2005
Wall Street Journal Europe — 3–5 June 2005, Page A4
“Shell Fights Over Domain Name Ahead of Parent Firm’s Merger”
Wall Street Journal (US Edition) — 2 June 2005
“Shell Wages Legal Fight Over Web Domain Name” — The WSJ broke the story globally: Alfred Donovan, 88-year-old British army veteran, had registered royaldutchshellplc.com before Shell itself.
Extract: “Later this summer, oil giant Royal Dutch/Shell Group is expected to merge its two parent companies, creating a new corporate entity: Royal Dutch Shell PLC. But go to www.royaldutchshellplc.com and you will find a crude Web site in garish colors where Alfred Donovan, an 88-year-old British army veteran, posts dozens of media reports and commentary, most of it negative, about Shell…”
Bloomberg — 2 June 2005
“Shell in Legal Battle Over Name of Web Site, Journal Reports”
Extract: “Donovan and his son John have waged a longstanding anti-Shell campaign that started in the 1990s in a dispute over rights to Shell gasoline-station promotions, the Journal said.”
Algemeen Dagblad / De Mirror (Netherlands) — 5 June 2005
“Hoogbejaarde Brit zit Shell dwars” — Dutch national coverage of the domain dispute.
The Times (City Diary) — 21 June 2005
“Hostile Domain”
Reuters / Washington Post — 24 June 2005
“Shell shareholders to back unification” — Reuters article syndicated to the Washington Post, noting the domain dispute as a complication to Shell’s corporate restructuring.
New York Times (Reuters syndication) — 25 June 2005
“Shell Shareholders to Back Unification”
Extract: “Another dampener on Shell’s biggest corporate overhaul since the two holding firms tied up in 1907, is a spat over the rights to the web domain ‘royaldutchshellplc.com.’ Disgruntled shareholder Alfred Donovan beat Shell to register the domain name.”
Variations also published by: The Washington Post · MSN Money · Yahoo · The Gulf Times (Qatar) · The Boston Globe — all June 2005.
Newstalk Radio 106fm Dublin — “The Breakfast Show with Eamon Dunphy” — 4 August 2005
John Donovan interview, broadcast 8.17am.
The Times — 16 August 2005
“AN ATTEMPT by Royal Dutch Shell to claim the website royaldutchshellplc.com has failed.” — Reporting the WIPO ruling (Case D2005-0538).
CommTech Newsletter — 9 September 2005
WIPO panel ruling summary.
Extract: “A World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) panel has found against Shell in a dispute over ownership of the domain names royaldutchshellgroup.com, royaldutchshellplc.com and tellshell.org. Alfred Donovan, an 88 year old war veteran and Shell shareholder, uses the domain names to direct to his website which offers a forum for criticism of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of companies.”
2006
Fortune Magazine — 2 August 2006 — [PDF]
“Executive Bookmark” — Fortune listed royaldutchshellplc.com alongside shell.com as one of the two principal Shell websites.
Argus FSU Energy — 27 October 2006
“Shell weights its options”
Interfax / Johnson’s Russia List — 13 November 2006
“Russian Ministry Says Sakhalin Energy Measures on Environment Unsatisfactory”
2007
NASA.gov — 1 January 2007 — [PDF1] [PDF2]
“Future Fuel Scenarios and Their Potential Impact to Aviation” — 18-page NASA technical report citing a royaldutchshellplc.com article on page 17.
Business New Europe — January 2007
“Shell Gets Stuck in a Sakhalin blog-mire”
Prospect Magazine — February 2007
“Rise of the gripe site” — Major feature on the Donovans and royaldutchshellplc.com as a new force in corporate accountability.
Financial Times — 5 June 2007
“‘Pipeliners All!’ Shell’s memo to Sakhalin” — FT story breaking the Patton-style Sakhalin memo, sourced from royaldutchshellplc.com.
WikiLeaks / Stratfor (email-id 340835) — 6 June 2007 — [PDF]
Global Intelligence Files record relating to the Sakhalin-2 Patton-style memo.
Moscow Times — 9 June 2007
“Sakhalin Pep Talk From ‘Old Blood and Guts'”
Financial Times — 22 June 2007
“‘Patton’ e-mail man resigns SEIC post” — SEIC Deputy Chairman David Greer resigns following the Sakhalin leak.
Moscow Times — 22 June 2007
“Sakhalin Energy’s Greer Steps Down”
One World Trust Newsletter — July 2007
“Royaldutchshellplc.com – The Power of a Website”
Daily Mail — 1 September 2007
“Shell on back foot as ‘gripe site’ alleges safety concerns”
Reuters — 4 September 2007
“Shell loses exec on troubled Kazakh project — source”
Extract: “John Donovan, who runs a Web site critical of Shell and acts as a conduit for whistleblowers at the company, said Shell insiders had told him that John Stubbs, a senior project manager on Kashagan, had left the Anglo-Dutch oil major.”
Daily Telegraph — 8 September 2007 — [PDF]
“Pressure on Shell over safety of platforms”
Sunday Telegraph — 10 September 2007 — [PDF]
“Online revolutionaries”
Prospect Magazine — 12 September 2007
“Shell’s Colchester headache”
The Times (City Diary — Martin Waller) — 22 September 2007
“Royal Dutch Shell at war with family”
Extract: “Since the 1990s, Royal Dutch Shell has been at war with a family who registered a website, royaldutchshellplc.com. The Donovan family, led by 90-year-old Burma veteran Alfred, perhaps quixotically want Shell to change its management. Shell has failed to shut down the site…”
BBC Radio Essex — 11 October 2007
Presenter Etholle George interviews John Donovan (transcript).
Nikkei BP (Japan) — 13 November 2007
“Gripe sites are becoming more powerful”
Extract: “The fate of Sakhalin 2 was changed by two British men… It is not well known in Japan that actions of a 90-year-old man and his son who live in a countryside in UK contributed to the above movement.”
Lloyd’s / Dow Jones Newswires — 19 November 2007
“US Court Ruling Paves For Shell Reserves Settlement To Proceed”
Reuters — 21 December 2007
“Shell to cut thousands of IT jobs”
Sunday Telegraph — 30 December 2007 — [PDF]
“Shell plans to outsource 3,600 jobs”
Financial Times — 30 December 2007 — [PDF]
“Shell looks to outsource about 3,200 IT jobs”
Guardian — 31 December 2007
“Shell to outsource 3,600 IT jobs”
2008
Wall Street Journal / Dow Jones — 2 January 2008
“Shell Plans Cost Cutting As Profit Is Threatened”
Extract: “Shell intends to transfer ‘close to 3,000 positions’ from its IT staff to outsourcing companies, according to a Shell newsletter obtained by Royaldutchshellplc.com.”
Bloomberg — 2 January 2008
“Shell Will Cut Finance Jobs, Reorganize in Nigeria, WSJ Says”
ComputerWorld UK — 2 January 2008
“Shell plans to outsource 3,200 IT jobs”
Dow Jones Newswires — 5 January 2008
“Shell CEO Reassures Staff After Outsourcing Leak”
Extract: “Royal Dutch Shell PLC Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer is seeking to reassure staff after leaks over the company’s plans to transfer 3,000 IT employees, according to a document obtained by Royaldutchshellplc.com.”
The Times — 25 January 2008
“Demand for oil and gas will outstrip supply within 7 years says Shell chief”
The Times (City Diary) — 25 January 2008
“A curious letter from Jeroen van der Veer”
Dow Jones Newswires — 25 January 2008
“Shell: Easy Oil No Longer Matching Demand After ’15 – Web Site”
Wall Street Journal / Dow Jones — 24–25 January 2008
“Shell OKs Extra $27M Legal Fee In Reserves Case — Website”
Wall Street Journal — 18 March 2008
“Shell Addresses Output Issue”
UK House of Commons — WWF evidence to Select Committee on Environmental Audit — 20 June 2008
WWF Sakhalin Evidence — Parliamentary evidence citing royaldutchshellplc.com’s Sakhalin II whistleblower reporting. Also published in House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee Eleventh Report of Session 2007–08.
WikiLeaks / Stratfor (email-id 1161378) — 1 December 2008 — [PDF]
Global Intelligence Files record relating to Gazprom loans and Sakhalin-2.
Guardian / International Herald Tribune / Reuters / Financial Times — 12–13 December 2008
Multiple outlets covered Shell’s pension fund falling 40% in value — Guardian · International Herald Tribune · Reuters · Financial Times
2009
Reuters (syndicated) — 30 January 2009
“Shell gets tough on costs as oil prices bite” — Reference: “Copies of the emails are available at www.royaldutchshellplc.com”
Syndicated to: AOL Money Canada · CNBC · Forbes · Financial Post · Guardian · International Herald Tribune · London Stock Exchange AFX · MSN · STV · USA Today · National Post
Santa Barbara News-Press — 7 February 2009
“Gripe sites are all the rage now”
Reuters (syndicated) — 9 February 2009
“INTERVIEW — Shell eyes Mid East growth, to cut some jobs” — Reference: employees posted comments on royaldutchshellplc.com.
Syndicated to: Guardian · Forbes · Forexpros · Trade Arabia · ArabianBusiness.com · Economic Times of India
The Intellectual Property Strategist (Law Journal Newsletter) — February 2009
“Gripe Sites: Sue or Stew” — Legal analysis of the Shell v Donovan WIPO case as precedent for corporate gripe site disputes.
Reuters (syndicated) — 12 February 2009
“Shell to stall hires and get ‘ruthless’ on contractors” — Reference: “A copy of the email is available on Shell protest site royaldutchshellplc.com.”
Syndicated to: Upstream Online · BNET · Singapore Retrenchment · Interactive Investor · ExecutiveDigital · LondonSouthEast.co.uk
Financial Times — 26 May 2009
“Shell shake-up widely rumoured; E&P and G&P tipped to merge” — Royaldutchshellplc.com broke the story of the Berlin restructuring summit.
Financial Times (multiple editions) — 26–27 May 2009
Three separate FT editions cited royaldutchshellplc.com as the source reporting that more than 30% of senior managers were expected to be cut. [FT 1] [FT 2] [FT 3] [FT 4]
Daily Mail — 26–27 May 2009
“Shell shock as long-timer Cook is first to go in Voser cull” — described royaldutchshellplc.com as “company gossip site” that had “regularly obtained leaks from Shell insiders.”
Dow Jones Newswires — 27 May 2009
“Shell To Restructure, Merge Three Units” — Dow Jones listed www.royaldutchshellplc.com as the company’s web address.
London Evening Standard — 27 May 2009
“Shell braced for massive job cuts in Berlin summit” — described royaldutchshellplc.com as “Shell insiders’ website.”
International coverage — 27 May 2009
AFP (France) · Romandie News · De 529 (Netherlands) · le nouvel Observateur · China Money 163.com · DutchDN (Norway) · DutchFEM · fd.nl (Het Financieele Dagblad) · koersalarm.nl · z24.nl · Denver Post — all citing royaldutchshellplc.com as the source of the restructuring story.
Wall Street Journal / Dow Jones (syndicated) — 22–23 June 2009
“Leaked Shell E-mail Reveals 62 Senior Executive Appointments”
Extract: “An internal e-mail from Royal Dutch Shell PLC leaked to a blog critical of the company has revealed the appointments of 62 senior executives to new roles within the restructured company. The e-mail dated June 16, sent by incoming Chief Executive Peter Voser, was published Saturday on the blog royaldutchshellplc.com.”
Syndicated to: ADVFN · easyBOURSE · SmartMoney · MorningStar · Dow Jones Deutschland · IEX.nl · fd.nl het Financieele Dagblad
Reuters (syndicated) — 30 May 2009
“Shell to cut 350–450 senior managers in overhaul — website” — “The Royaldutchshellplc.com website was the first to reveal news of the planned restructuring.”
Syndicated to: New York Times · CNBC · Forbes · MSN Money · USA Today · BNET · Economic Times India · Straits Times Singapore · Interactive Investor · Brazil Globo · Reuters China · SINA.com
Sunday Times — 19 July 2009
“Two men and a website mount vendetta against an oil giant” — Major Sunday Times feature with photo spread; subtitle: “They just go on digging: the Donovans’ campaign has caused Shell expense and embarrassment at its operations in Russia.”
Financial Times Energy Source — 20 July 2009
“Why royaldutchshellplc.com do what they do”
Wall Street Journal / Dow Jones (syndicated) — 17 July, 21 July, 3 August 2009
“Shell Email Leak Says US Convent Refinery Income Dismal — Blog” and “Shell’s Leaked 300 VPs List Shows Deepening Restructuring”
Syndicated to: NASDAQ · SmartMoney · EasyBourse · MorningStar · ADVFN · Borsa Italiana · New York Daily News
Reuters — 2 December 2009
“Shell critic says oil major targeting his website” — Key Reuters investigation; includes the email from a Shell communications representative to Fox News describing royaldutchshellplc.com as “an excellent source of group news and comment… far above what our own group internal comms puts out.”
2010 Onwards
The source page at royaldutchshellgroup.com/2016/09/19/88205/ continues with entries through 2026, covering over 300 further articles. The page is regularly updated. Key themes from 2010 onwards include: the 2010 and 2015 data breach coverage (176,000+ employee records); the Shell reserves fraud and related U.S. class action; ongoing Sakhalin-2 and Nigeria coverage; the 2022 Shell corporate renaming fiasco; AI “bot war” coverage from 2024–2026; and the Guardian and Reuters articles on the Donovans’ campaign attracting over 550 external references.
17-page report by Michael Priestley entitled “China’s reliance on Australian LNG exports” published by Parliament of Australia Department of Parliamentary Services on 6 January 2010. Reference link on page 4 to an article on royaldutchshellplc.com
*United States Trademark Law book published by BOOKS LLC in 2010
Chapter 11 is devoted to the website ROYALDUTCHSHELLPLC.COM
Extract: royaldutchsheUplc.com is a Royal Dutch Shell gripe site and blog operated by Alfred and John Donovan, who engaged in several marketing campaigns with Shell during the 1980s and early 1990s. The father and son duo believe Shell violated intellectual property agreements and filed several law suits against Shell prior to starting several websites critical of Shell, including royaldutchshellplc.com. The site has been oft quoted in news sources and is known for its activities as an Internet leak and forum for Shell whistleblowers.
Syndicated version:
*ADVFN.COM/ DOW JONES NEWS
*DataBreaches.net: Shell employee contact data breach affects over 100,000: 7 February 2010
Syndicated version ends
*Financial Times: Shell staff details leaked to campaign groups: 11 February 2010
*Times Online: Confidential Shell database published on web: 12 February 2010
*ComputerWeekly.com: Did activists infiltrate Shell to obtain contacts database?: 12 February 2010
*ComputerWeekly.com: Shell staff details revealed in security breach
*Evening Express: Alert after Shell workers data leaked on web: 12 February 2010
*Financial Times: Shell employees’ details leaked to environmental campaigners: 12 February 2010
*Financial Times Blog: Shells directory leak shouldnt be taken lightly: 12 February 2010
*Dark Reading: Shell Employee Directory Leaked, Allegedly By Activist Workers
*Financial Times: Shell staff contact list leaked to environmental campaign groups
*Irish Herald.ie: Shell staff details exposed online in security leak risk
*The Times: SHELL INVESTIGATES INTERNET POSTING OF PERSONAL DETAILS:13 February 2010
*Reuters: SHELL INVESTIGATES INTERNET POSTING OF PERSONAL DETAILS: 13 February 2010
*The Register: Shell hit by massive data breach: 15 Feb 2010
*ITPRO: Shell hit by massive data breach: 15 Feb 2010
*ITWIRE: Shells internal directory leaked to activists: 16 Feb 2010
*ITPRO: Shell data hackers hoped to kick-off ‘revolution’: 16 Feb 2010
DATA BREACH STORIES END
*WikiLeaks THE GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE FILES 19 Feb 2010 Email-ID 5033529. Stratfor.com Nigeria database – Open “Attached Files” 167401.
*ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST: The Corrib Gas controversy: October 2010: Book – can be purchased on Amazon
Extract: Four years later, in November 2007, the RoyalDutchShellplc.com website run by Alfred and John Donovan – long-time critics of the multinational – published details of minutes of a meeting of Shell group managing directors on 22 and 23 July 2002. Planning refusal for the Ballinaboy gas terminal in north Mayo was discussed, according to the website, which quoted from the minutes: ‘The committee queried whether the group had sufficiently well placed contacts with the Irish government and regulators. Paul Skinner undertook to explore this issue further in consultation with the country chairman in Ireland.’
2011
*CRC Press: “The Four Stages of Highly Effective Crisis Management” by Jan Jordan-Meier Book Published March 2011
Extract:
Not only have they been actively campaigning against the company for nearly a decade (they started in 2001), but they own the domain name www.royaldutchshellplc.com–Shell’s proper name, you guessed it, Royal Dutch Shell.
According to an interview on their blog, the site receives millions of hits per month and many of the people using the site are shell employees.
Influential–you bet. The Donovans and their blog are regularly quoted in the mainstream media–no doubt that the father-and-son team is an ongoing headache for Shell.
Extract: The RoyalDutchShellplc.com website is highly critical of Shell’s operations worldwide. It was established in 2005 by the Donovans, owners of a marketing company which was involved in court actions with Shell.
*66-page report authored by Albert ten Kate entitled: “Royal Dutch Shell and its sustainability troubles” published by Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands) in May 2011
Extract
Research
Assessing the online library of news articles and leaked documents (over 25,000 articles and documents) about Royal Dutch Shell via http://royaldutchshellplc.com
*OUR INVOLVEMENT IN A SUNDAY EXPRESS ARTICLE: SCOTTISH OIL RIGS IN DIRE STRAITS: 11 September 2011
*THE MAYO NEWS ARTICLE: Natural resources they have’nt gone away you know: 7 October 2011
Extract: The royaldutchshellplc.com website had this on its home page last Friday. This website, subtitled, ‘News and information on Royal Dutch Shell Plc’ has nothing whatever to do with the said company. A disclaimer states: “This is not a Shell website nor is it officially endorsed by or affiliated with Shell in any way.” The site was founded by 94 year-old Alfred Donovan, the former Chairman of the Shell Corporate Conscience Pressure Group. He is assisted by, among others, his son, John, who has been involved in the gasoline retailing industry for over 40 years. John is best known for his long association with the Royal Dutch Shell Group, firstly for devising marketing campaigns on an international basis and more recently as a long-term Shell shareholder and critic of Shell senior management. The site is a mine of information on Shell’s activities worldwide.
2012
*Extract from the ebook by Robert Eringer, Suck My Pen: How to Gut Goliath by Becoming an Interactive Hub of Dissent (Published March 2012 Kindle Edition)
EXTRACTS:
…the most successful gripe site of all time, which targets Shell Oil, actually operates under the domain name royaldutchshellplc.com, Shell’s legal trading name.
IX. CASE STUDY: SHELL OIL
1. Royal Dutch Shell Plc is a multinational Goliath that makes billions of dollars annually in profits from high oil prices and employs 100,000 persons in over a hundred countries; but if you go to royaldutchshellplc.com you will not find Shell Oil; you will find a gripe site operated by father and son Alfred and John Donovan.
2. In 1993, Shell allegedly stole promotional ideas disclosed to it in confidence by the Donovans; they resorted to legal means to remedy their predicament, resulting in many court battles; in the midst of litigation, the Donovans created an anti-Shell gripe site; Shell eventually paid to settle all court actions.
3. Nonetheless, the Donovans continued to use their site to hold Shell accountable whenever Shell’s policies did not correlate to their public relations and advertising rhetoric.
4. In March 2005, Shell initiated legal action to try to stop the Donovans from using royaldutchshellplc.com as their domain name; Shell lost.
5. Over time, the Donovans constructed the most comprehensive Shell-related news service on the Internet, gathering and publishing many news stories on Shell each day on a 24/7 basis; additionally, the Donovans write and publish an outspoken blog about Shell on which they discuss various news stories while voicing their expert opinions; if you Google “Royal Dutch Shell,” there are approximately of 1,120,000 results; the Donovan site consistently ranks number four.
6. Visitors to royaldutchshellplc.com site can post comments on its Live Chat feature without having to register, thereby allowing anonymous offerings; thus it attracts Shell insiders who reveal confidential information about Shell without them having to give up their identities; some such insiders graduated to leaking Shell internal correspondence documents to the Donovans.
7. Royaldutchshellplc.com receives several million hits monthly and has become an interactive hub of dissent, attracting whistleblowers who use the Donovan site as a means to leak numerous Shell secrets to the media, resulting in huge embarrassment to Shell’s senior management and even the resignation of a Shell senior executive.
8. A confidential Shell memo leaked to the Donovans tabled strategies for combatting the Donovan site; Shell conducted surveillance and deployed dirty tricks against the Donovans, including the use of an undercover agent who presented false credentials from a company that did not exist and was subsequently caught examining private mail inside the Donovans office.
9. The significance of the Donovan website has been acknowledged by mainstream media; One World Trust, an independent research organization, announced that the Donovan site has had a “profound” impact on Shell.
10. Profound, indeed; revelations published on royaldutchshellplc.com have cost Shell billions of dollars; as such, David gutted Goliath.
*The headline is “Konzernfeind No.1″ freely translated as: “The Company’s (Shell’s) Enemy No.1″
*PRESSEUROP: John Donovan, Shell’s nightmare: 27 March 2012
Extract: Thanks to a network of “moles” inside the company, this early retiree from Britain is posting on his website reports on shortcomings inside the world’s largest oil group. It’s a dogged pursuit that has already cost the Anglo-Dutch giant several billions.
*VOXeurop: John Donovan, l’incubo di Shell: Published in Italian 27 March 2012
*VOXeurop: John Donovan, o pesadelo da Shell: Published in Portuguese: 27 March 2012
*VOXeurop: John Donovan, coşmarul celor de la Shell: published in Romanian: 27 March 2012
*ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF A FRENCH ARTICLE BY MYEUROP.INFO: The man who shook Shell: 29 March 2012
Extract: John Donovan, 64, is a meticulous man and very knowledgeable. For several years he has spent most of his time on what he describes as his “super-hobby”: the website royaldutchshellplc.com with scoops on the evils of the multinational.
Contacted by telephone Wednesday, Shell declined to comment about this annoying site.
It is not uncommon for John Donovan to find in his mailbox job applications, professional sales proposals and even terrorist threats directed at the oil company. It should be clear that it is an anti-Shell site, but there are many people who do not pay attention.
*BNR News Radio (Netherlands): JOHN DONOVAN, THE NIGHTMARE OF SHELL: 29 March 2012
*Article by MyEuro.info: The Man Who Knew too much… about Shell: 3 April 2012
*European Journal TV news magazine. Documentary segment “Britain: Shell’s Enemy No. 1” First broadcast 2 May 2012 VIDEO LINK
*Ground Report: THE GRIPE SITE – ROYAL DUTCH SHELL VS. ROBERT ERINGER: 17 May 2012 pdf version
*TRANSLATION OF DUTCH MAGAZINE “VRIJ NEDERLAND” ARTICLE: How Shell pleased Qaddafi: 1 August 2012
Extract: The list was given to Vrij Nederland by the Englishman John Donovan of the website Royaldutchplc.com which has critically monitored the multinational for many years. John Donovan says he has a network of people who work for the oil and gas company or used to work for it.
2013
*WikiLeaks: Internal global intelligence company Stratfor email about an article relating to the Sakhalin project in Russia. (FT Article). One of several WikiLeak files citing royaldutchshellplc.com: Released by WikiLeaks 18 March 2013
Extract: The news about Mr. Lawrence’s departure was first reported on the website of John Donovan, a blogger critical of the company.
*Wall Street Journal: Head of Shell U.S. Arctic Program to Depart: 22 March 2013
Extract: The news about Mr. Lawrence’s departure was first reported on the website of John Donovan, a blogger critical of the company.
*RIGZONE: Shell Executive Managing Arctic Alaska Oil Program to Leave Company: Friday March 22, 2013
*Shell Executive From Arctic Alaska Oil Program to Leave: Fox Business: 22 March 2013
*FORBES ARTICLE: Did Shell Axe Exec Responsible For Alaska Drilling Fiasco?: 26 March 2013
Extract: Much correspondence between Shell and OSSL is posted on a website which then came to play a key role: royaldutchshellplc.com, run by John Donovan and until recently his father, Alfred, who died last month. The site, a thorn in Shell’s side, is a watchdog on the company and repository for material leaked by whistleblowers and discontents, with more than 30 million monthly hits. The Donovans had secured places for Kane and Rooney at Shell’s AGM last month, to raise their grievances. Cornered, the company’s CEO, Peter Voser, suddenly ordered a further inquiry, a move echoed by the Garda.
*Luxfer Group Limited Press Release: Luxfer Group enters into North American joint venture: 12 Aug 2013: PDF
*U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission website: Luxfer Group Enters into North American Joint Venture to Produce Gas Transportation Modules: 12 Aug 2013 PDF
*IRISH TIMES ARTICLE: Shell welcomes Garda examination of alcohol claims: 13 August 2013
Extract: The Garda Ombudsman confirmed yesterday that it was not currently investigating the claims, which first surfaced on the whistleblowers’ website royaldutchshellplc.com.
*THE MAYO NEWS ARTICLE: Gardaí deny booze bribes: 13 August 2013
Extract: The invoice for the consignment of alcohol is on-view on www.royaldutchshellplc.com, the site of well-known Shell watchdog, John Donovan.
Donovan told The Mayo News yesterday he ‘made it plain to Shell that if they categorically stated that the invoice was fabricated, then [he] would remove it from [his] website’. The Observer also asked the gardaí and Supt John Gilligan, who was the garda chief at the time in Belmullet, to deny the claim but they simply re-sent a a prepared statement.
Extracts
In the first email published on the anti-Shell whistleblower website, royaldutchshellplc.com, OSSL alleges that a Shell contacts manager for Corrib “used OSSL to make payments of cash and gifts to various parties in Erris and beyond” and “gave instructions regarding the purchase of various items to be gifted to local householders with a view to advancing the project in a particularly difficult part of the construction program”.
Just a month later, OSSL decided to take its campaign public and posted its allegations on the anti-Shell website, royaldutchshellplc.com.
Six months later John Donovan, who runs royaldutchshellplc.com, received an invoice from OSSL. The invoice, drawn up five years after the event, outlines how two consignments of alcohol costing €29,500 were purchased in Northern Ireland by OSSL. They were then allegedly brought across the border in a commercial vehicle on the instruction of a Shell E&P Ireland employee and stored in OSSL premises in Bangor Erris.
2014
*FORBES MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Big Oil’s $3 Billion Homage To A Nazi War Criminal: 20 Dec 2014
2015
*THE JEWISH CHRONICLE: World’s biggest ship named after Nazi: 22 Jan 2015
*DUTCH FINANCIAL TIMES: Criticism swells of Heerema’s ‘bad name’ heavy lift: 25 Jan 2015
*GUARDIAN ONLINE: Jewish outrage as ship named after SS war criminal arrives in Europe: 25 Jan 2015
*Maldon Standard: Man’s fight to change ship’s Nazi-linked name succeeds: 12 February 2015
2016
*CNBC: UPDATE 1-Shell takes sacked UK workers overseas service tax break: 8 July 2016
*DAILY MAIL ONLINE: Shell takes sacked UK workers overseas service tax breaks: 8 July 2016
*Reuters Syndicated article: Shell faces possible Dutch lawsuit over Nigerian activist’s execution: 16 October 2016
Also published by the following from 16 to the 17th of October 2016:
*OAN – One American News Network
*WIBQ THE TALK STATION (US TALK RADIO)
*THE FISCAL TIMES (US WEBSITE)
*YouTube.com Wochit: Shell May Face Lawsuit Over Nigerian Activists Execution
*Shell Faces Lawsuit over Activists’ Execution: THIS DAY
*defenceWeb Zambia 17 Oct 2016
Syndicated article ends
2017
*Reuters syndicated article: Shell’s attorneys ordered to give Nigerian activist’s widow files for Dutch lawsuit: 11 Jan 2017
*TV260 Nigeria: US court orders Shell to release files to Nigerian activist’s widow
*biznes.onet.pl (Poland)
Syndicated article end
Reuters syndicated article: Shell Plans 400 Job Cuts at Dutch Projects and Technology Department: 31 July 2017
PDF versions in brackets
*Reuters (Reuters 31 July 2017
*The New York Times (Shell Plans 400 Job Cuts at Dutch Projects and Technology Department – The New York Times)
*Daily Mail (Daily Mail 31 July 2017)
*YAHOO FINANCE: (YAHOO FINANCE 31 July 2017)
*New York Daily News: (New York Daily News 31 July 2017)
*One America News Network: (One America News Network 31 July 2017)
*WIBQ TALK Radio (WIBQ Talk Radio Website 31 July 2017)
*Euronews (EuroNews: 31 July 2017)
*THE TIMES OF INDIA: (THE TIMES OF INDIA 31 July 2017)
*THE ECONOMIC TIMES OF INDIA (THE ECONOMIC TIMES OF INDIA 31 July 2017)
*Business Standard: (Business Standard 31 July 2017)
*BUSINESS INSIDER: (BusinessInsider.com 31 July 2017)
*CHANNEL NEWSASIA (CHANNEL NEWSASIA 31 July 2017)
*LONDON SOUTH EAST (LONDON SOUTH EAST 31 July 2017)
*THE FISCAL TIMES (THE FISCAL TIMES 31 July 2017)
*TimesofMalta.com (TimesofMalta.com 31 July 2017)
*RigZone (Rigzone 31 July 2017)
*The Star (The Star 1 Aug 2017)
*4-traders (4-traders 31 July 2017)
*HARTENERGY E&P Mag (E&P 31 July 2017)
*NewEurope (NewEurope 31 July 2017)
*The Chemical Engineer (Chemical Engineer 2 Aug 2017)
*THEEDGEMARKETS (THEEDGEMARKETS 31 July 2017)
*SIFY Finance (India) (SIFI INDIA 31 July 2017)
*SRN News (SRN News 31 July 2017)
*KITCO News (Kitco News 31 July 2017)
*Netscape World News: (Netscape 31 July 2017)
*MoneyControl.com: (MoneyControl.com 31 July 2017)
*Prometheism.net (Prometheism.net 31 July 2017)
2018
*Mossmorran Action Group Website. Royaldutchshellplc.com related article. 17 July 2018 pdf
Reuters Syndicated Article: Shell sees Nigeria corruption trial lasting many months – memo: 11 October 2018
“We do not yet know how long the trial will last but expect this to be many months, continuing into next year,” Ching said in the Sept. 20 memo, provided to Reuters by John Donovan, who runs the independent royaldutchshellplc.com website.he website often serves as a forum to criticise the oil major.
*CNBC
MAY 2021
openDemocracy article dated 29 May 2021 headlined: Calls for Shell to apologise for ‘fuelling Nazi war machine’. A review of a new hardback and Kindle book by James Marriott and Terry Macalister – ‘Crude Britannia’ – reveals the extent to which the oil company played a key role in Hitler’s war effort. Photo credit reference to John Donovan in the article. “The Royal Dutch Shell Company HQ in The Hague, flying a Swastika | Image via John Donovan.” pdf
AUGUST 2021
John Donovan supplied the leaked Shell email and attachment information used in the following articles published 8/9 August 2021:
*FT: Shell weighs vaccine mandate and firing staff who resist: 8 Sept 2021
REUTERS SYNDICATED ARTICLE, MANY PUBLISHERS
*Shell weighs COVID-19 vaccine mandate, firing staff who resist – FT: PUBLISHED
REUTERS SYNDICATED ARTICLE, MANY PUBLISHERS
*Shell weighs ‘jab or job’ policy for employees -document: Sep 9, 2021 | 5:49 AM
*The Telegraph: Live Coronavirus latest news
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL:
*Shell Weighs Mandating Covid-19 Vaccines for Workers: Sept. 9, 2021 4:40 pm ET
OCTOBER 2021
*October 2021 Channel 4 TV documentary Joe Lycett vs The Oil Giant aired at 9pm in the UK on 24 Oct 2021. Included a segment with John Donovan being interviewed by Joe Lycett.
*Trailers briefly featuring John Donovan were broadcast on multiple Channel 4 TV programmes and on Channel 4 News in the days before the documentary was broadcast on 24 October 2021. The video trailer was also posted on Instagram.
*Related coverage on the British Comedy Guide: Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back: Joe Lycett Climate Investigation: Ahead of the COP26 climate change summit, Joe Lycett takes on one of the world’s most powerful companies – Shell – as he investigates whether its eco-friendly advertising really paints the right picture of a corporation that still drills a huge amount of oil and gas. Joe meets climate experts and attempts to engage Shell in his own uniquely fearless fashion, before deciding to make his own version of their ads and tries to get his parody broadcast on national television. pdf version
*John Donovan is listed in the related British Comedy Guide Guest cast of “Joe Lycett Climate Investigation“.
*John Donovan and his royaldutchshellplc.com website are listed on a separate page devoted to John Donovan. pdf version “John Donovan is a whistleblower. He runs the website https://www.royaldutchshellplc.com.”
*20 December 2021: Several pages in a legal exhibit filed on 20 December 2021 with a U.S. court in Texas contain references to John Donovan and several of his Shell focused websites. (Case 4:20-cv-01465 Document 22-1 Filed on 12/20/21 in TXSD). The litigation details, including the relevant exhibit, can be seen here. (Relevant article headline: “Shell gripe website sucked into US litigation between warring Shell global security spymasters”.)
JAN 2022
*Wikipedia article “Joe Lycett vs the Oil Giant” downloaded 15 January 2022. Mentions “John Donovan a man who runs an anti-Shell website for whistleblowers to contribute to…”
CAN SHELL GREEN: Article authored by Matthias Lauerer. English translation of extracts from a Forbes article published in German in March 2022.
1st March 2022
Is Shell on its way to a carbon-neutral future? Will this be a reimagined world, where green hydrogen, e-mobility and decarbonization have become a reality? Or do they prefer to greenwash to perpetuate the dirty old business model on which the global economy hangs?
Speaking to Shell critic John Donovan, he said: “Shell has been forced to make drastic changes in response to pressure from climate change organizations and financial activists like Daniel S. Loeb, who wants to break up the corporation.” Also helping, he said, is the “change in jurisdiction in countries like the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, which now allows for lawsuits alleging wrongdoing in countries like Nigeria.” What Donovan, who has sharply criticized the company for years, is hopeful about now? “Shell seems to have realized that it needs to go green to fight climate change and stay in business – and not face ostracism like the tobacco companies.article
WINDOWS FORUM: Donovan Shell Copilot Transcript: AI, Surveillance, and the Archive Saga: 31 Oct 2025
WINDOWS FORUM: AI Biographies and Provenance: The Donovan Shell GROK Fiasco: 6 December 2025
WINDOWS FORUM: Donovan Shell Archive: AI Summaries, Provenance and Shell Ethics: 6 Dec 2025
WINDOWS FORUM: Donovan Archive vs AI: Shell Allegations and AGM Accountability: 26 Dec 2025
WINDOWS FORUM: Shell vs The Bots: Adversarial Archives and AI Hallucination Risks: 28 Dec 2025
WINDOWS FORUM: Donovan Shell AI Experiment: AI Hallucinations and Governance Risks: 29 Dec 2025
WNDOWS FORUM: AI Hallucinations and the Donovan Shell Archive: A Governance Challenge: 28 Dec 2025
WINDOWS FORUM: AI Governance Gap in Public Archives: The Donovan Shell Experiment: 29 Dec 2025
WINDOWS FORUM: Shell Donovan Bot War: AI Narratives in Contested History: 5 Jan 2026
WINDOWS FORUM: Donovan Shell Bot War: Adversarial Archives and AI Hallucinations: 6 Jan 2026
WINDOWS FORUM: Generative AI and Corporate Memory: The Donovan Shell Bot War: 11 Jan 2026
The AI Mag: Sir Henri Deterding’s Unexpected Return: Powered by Generative AI – Royal Dutch Shell Plc: 13 Jan 2026
WINDOWS FORUM: Shell Governance Gaps Revealed by AI Pattern Analysis: 19 Jan 2026
WINDOWS FORUM: John Donovan’s December 2025 experiment — feeding decades of adversarial material about Royal Dutch Shell into multiple public AI assistants and publishing the divergent outputs — transformed a long‑running supplier feud and documentary archive into a live test of how generative systems handle contested archives, and in doing so exposed a set of practical governance failures that lawyers, platform designers, corporate boards and journalists must now confront.. :25 Jan 2026: Source: Royal Dutch Shell Plc .com More Than Dynamite: How AI Reframes the Donovan–Shell Archive as Persistent Risk
WINDOWS FORUM: Bot War: Archival AI Amplification of the Donovan Shell Feud: 13 Feb 2026
WINDOWS FORUM: AI Amplified Bot War: Shell vs Donovan Over Archival Critique: 4 March 2026
WINDOWS FORUM: Shell’s Long-Fought Domain Feud: AI Roundtable Satire and Reputational Fallout: 23 March 2026
WINDOWS FORUM: Shell vs Donovan Feud: Domain Loss, Leaks, and Self-Inflicted PR Humiliation: 28 March 2026
110 Books — Containing References to the Donovans, Don Marketing, or Their Websites
Source: royaldutchshellplc.com books index. Listed in the order they appear on the source page.
1. Corporate Reputation: 12 Steps to Safeguarding and Recovering Reputation — Dr Leslie Gaines-Ross (January 2008)
Page 20: “One such empowered activist is arch Shell critic Alfred Donovan. No one was more surprised than Royal Dutch Shell PLC to learn that this 88-year-old British army veteran had purchased the Internet domain name www.royaldutchshellplc.com…”
2. Beyond Redemption: The First Ever History of Sales Promotion — Colin Lloyd & Ken Spedding
Page 70: John Donovan MD of Don Marketing took Shell to court claiming rights to a card-based multi-brand loyalty scheme; Shell settled out of court.
3. Hawley’s Condensed Chemical Dictionary — Page 1480
Lists royaldutchshellplc.com as Shell’s corporate website address.
4. A Line in the Tar Sands: Struggles for Environmental Justice — Page 337
5. The Four Stages of Highly Effective Crisis Management — Page 164
“Alfred Donovan, now 90-plus years old, and his son John have been collecting and publishing information online about Shell’s activities since 2001… they own the domain name www.royaldutchshellplc.com — Shell’s proper name.”
6. Law of the Internet — George B. Delta & Jeffrey H. Matsuura (October 2008)
Supplement 8-28: cites Donovan v Shell as an example of domain name dispute as protected First Amendment expression.
7. Corporate Social Responsibility in the Digital Age — Pages 114 and 123
Describes royaldutchshellplc.com as “dedicated to exposing Shell’s dark side.” Quotes John Donovan: “We want Shell to honour its own business principles… they are a ruthless, mean oil company.”
8. Once Upon a Time in the West: The Story of the Controversial Corrib Gas Project — Lorna Siggins (2010), Page 126
9. The BP Corollary — Fiction reference to John Donovan
10. Marketing, Vol. 21 — Page 6: Don Marketing chairman John Donovan on international promotional game design including Shell Make Money.
11. Marketing, Vol. 23 — Page 40: Full list of Don Marketing / Shell promotional games.
12. International Arbitration in the Energy Sector
13. Arctic Governance: Volume 2 — Edited by Soltvedt, Rottem, Hønneland
14. California Management Review, Vol. 56 — Page 22
15. Die Welt auf Kriegskurs — Page 10
16. Journal of International Commerce & Economics, Vol. II — Page 95
17. The Practical Guide to Corporate Social Responsibility — Page 260
18. Multinational Management — Page 171
19. Iraq Investment and Business Guide, Vol. 1 — Page 39
20. The Hungry Dragon: How China’s Quest for Resources is Reshaping the World — Page 152
21. Handbook of Research on Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility — Page 144
22. Changing Energy: The Transition to a Sustainable Future — Page 324
23. Generation Busted: How America Went Broke in the Age of… — Alan J. Zemek (2010), Page 151
24. Shale Gas and the Future of Energy: Law and Policy — Page 211
25. Jacob Schiff and the Art of Risk: American Financing of… — Adam Gower (2018), Page 318
26. Reputation Risk and Globalisation — Terry O’Callaghan (2016), Page 189
Cites Donovan’s article on Royal Dutch Shell’s Nazi secrets (2010).
27. Environmental Technologies, Intellectual Property and… — Abbe E. L. Brown (2013), Page 127
28. Greenhouse Gases: Worldwide Impacts — Julie Kerr Casper (2010)
29. Business Ethics in the 21st Century — Norman Bowie (2013), Page 59
30. Human Rights Obligations of Business: Beyond the Corporate… — Surya Deva & David Bilchitz (2013), Page 348
31. Big Business and Hitler — Jacques R. Pauwels (2017), Page 286
Cites Donovan’s “Royal Dutch Shell Nazi Secrets: Introduction” (November 2010).
32. Strategy For A Networked World — Rafael Ramirez & Ulf Mannervik (2016), Page 123
33. The Global Politics of Science and Technology, Vol. 2 — Mayer, Carpes, Knoblich (2014), Page 98
34. The Return of the Public in Global Governance — Best & Gheciu (2014), Page 218
35. Proceedings of the Annual Institute — Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Institute (2010)
Page 3-11: “RoyalDutchShellPlc.com consistently appears in the top 10 organic results in a Google search of ‘Royal Shell Oil.'”
36. Spygate: The Attempted Sabotage of Donald J. Trump — Dan Bongino et al. (2018)
Cites Donovan’s article “Hakluyt & Company Spying for Shell” (March 2018).
37. Revolutionary Threads: Rastafari, Social Justice, and… — Bobby Sullivan (2018)
38. Ecology and Power in the Age of Empire — Corey Ross (2017), Page 234
39. Methods in Chemical Process Safety — Page 33
40. The Reform of Class and Representative Actions in European Legal Systems — Christopher Hodges (2008), Pages 75–76, Front Cover, Back Cover
41. Handbook of Industrial Polyethylene and Technology — Spalding & Chatterjee (2017)
42. Delivering Collective Redress: New Technologies — Christopher Hodges & Stefaan Voet
Books 43–110: The full list of all 110 books is maintained at royaldutchshellplc.com. Topics in books 43–110 include: Shell reserves fraud legal analysis; Nigerian operations and human rights; Arctic drilling; Shell and Nazi Germany (multiple volumes); corporate whistleblowing and digital activism; internet law and domain name jurisprudence; environmental governance; oil and gas industry economics; and promotional marketing history.
TV, Radio & Video Compilation
BBC / ITV / Channel 4 News — Compilation — Mid-1980s
YouTube compilation of filmed interviews with Alfred and John Donovan across BBC, ITV, and Channel 4 News broadcasts in the mid-1980s, together with TV adverts for promotional games invented by John Donovan (including Shell Make Money, Shell Mastermind, and Shell Bruce’s Lucky Deal).
Sources: royaldutchshellgroup.com articles index · royaldutchshellplc.com books index · Donovan v Royal Dutch Shell background. Syndicated duplicates removed; prestigious syndications (NYT, Washington Post, Guardian, Bloomberg, FT etc.) retained. Reconstructed June 2026.
*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.
