Manage Subscriptions · Subscribe Now · F.A.Q.'s
HOME · Saturday, May 17, 2008
Accounting, Management & Legal
Protecting Your Trademark From Web Thieves
How trademark infringement happens, and how to stop it
How valuable is your business or product name? Most small and mid-size businesses aren’t aware of the value of protecting trademarks. When the focus is on making payroll, monitoring sales, providing quality customer service and reaching financial projections, it might not seem like a top priority to police the web for thieves.
However, it ought to be. Others steal your name to hurt you. Such theft has an immediate impact on your sales, retentions and service costs — which pounds your bottom line. So, as someone who represents both the infringed and the infringers on a regular basis, I offer the following comments.
How does it happen?
You may not know how to find or recognize trademark theft. It is likely designed to avoid detection. For example, if someone steals your name and uses it in a search engine pay-per-click (PPC) campaign, the thief might not run the ad in the geographic location of your company headquarters. You won't see the advertisement in your state (with a few exceptions), but everyone else in the world will.
Who does it?
Anyone could hijack your name — from the well-respected Internet companies that use popular terms to drive traffic with no attempt to filter out trademarks, to the 15-year-old affiliate marketer in South America who launches websites embedded with your name in content and tags. Don’t forget about your competitor down the street who might use a misspelled domain name that resembles your URL or the competitor you haven't met — perhaps in Europe — who buys PPC ads using your name.
How do they do it?
The most troublesome and difficult to combat are the “hit and run” campaigns that use seemingly untraceable email marketing techniques, short-lived websites and domain name “tasting.” There are an infinite number of techniques in use today and more being developed for tomorrow. Thieves always try to stay ahead of the game.
Why do they do it?
Consider that the essence of trademark protection is to try to ensure the public is not confused into thinking another business is your business. The first motivation for a trademark infringer is obvious: To make money. Infringers do this by direct competition against your company, by acting as affiliate marketers or lead brokers of your competitors or by selling the leads they generate.
The second reason for such theft is more in the category of unfair competition than pure trademark infringement. Sadly, it has received virtually no attention in the media though it reflects a far more nefarious motivation: Business sabotage. Embarrassing sites that look like your business are launched, “your” business sends out 10 million emails and “your” employees post outrageous and embarrassing comments under your company name.
What should you do?
The odds your name will be stolen are high. The odds it will be sabotaged are low. For every 1,000 trademark complaints we receive, perhaps 10 involve sabotage. One percent is an acceptable risk to some, but not to others.
Regardless of your level of concern, there is no justification for not policing your names if you are serious about your business. Register the names with the U.S. trademark office and perhaps one or two other offices. Consistently review the PPC ads and organic search engine results (including blogs and forums) using a variety of search terms. Participate in an “alert” system. Be prepared to act promptly to go on the attack if the situation calls for it.
Do the right thing at the right time, and the infringers will move on to an easier mark.
The information in this article is not intended to be legal advice. Always consult your attorney when faced with legal issues.
Blinklist | Del.icio.us | Furl | Ma.gnolia | Newsvine | Spurl | Reddit | Technorati
Published on Monday, April 02, 2007
Comments:
Who do we report such infringement to? Can you present your case to Google/Yahoo to pull the ads?
Posted by: Brian
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
1) You can register your trademark at the state and international levels.
2) Both Google and Yahoo! have complaint mechanisms that go to business units following clearly defined business processes. As attorneys, we can go to the General Counsel's office to get to the decision makers.
Posted by: john w dozier jr
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
What's the difference between registering a Trademark with the State or with the Federal Government? (Besides the cost) If you register with the Federal Government are you automatically registered within your State and/or Internationally?
Posted by: Peggy
Monday, June 04, 2007
What if you don't live in the US?
A thief can steal your site name from any country. Is your national trademark protection enough?
Posted by: Rip
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Ecommerce Articles
- Browse All Articles
- Browse our complete archive of ecommerce articles.
- Accounting, Management & Legal
- Ecommerce articles related to managing a small business including ecommerce accounting, business strategy and legal considerations.
- Conversion & Usability
- Online business articles about converting web site visitors into customers and how to gauge and improve your business website's usability.
- Development & Programming
- Articles to help designers, developers and programmers create successful, search engine friendly ecommerce websites and improve existing ones.
- Hosting, Infrastructure & Software
- Articles for ecommerce businesses about ecommerce web hosting, business infrastructure, business strategy and helpful ecommerce & small business software.
- Interviews & Profiles
- Interviews with prominent ecommerce business personalities and profiles of successful online businesses.
- Inventory & Shipping
- Ecommerce articles about inventory management, ecommerce order fulfillment and product shipping considerations.
- Marketing & Revenue Growth
- Articles relating to online marketing, email marketing and using the Internet to growing your business.
- Search Engine Optimization
- Search engine optimization articles for ecommerce business owners, strategists, marketers and developers.
- Shopping Carts & Online Payments
- Articles covering ecommerce shopping cart platforms and options for choosing an online payment gateway.
- Training & Education
- Tutorials and articles providing training and education for ecommerce business owners and developers of ecommerce websites.
Search Articles
Ecommerce Community
- Ecommerce Blogs
- Read our blogs about ecommerce topics written by industry professionals.
- Community Forum
- Connect with other ecommerce professionals to trade advice and answers in our community forum.
- Podcasts
- Check out our ecommerce podcasts covering topics ranging from interviews to tutorials.
- RSS Content Feeds
- Subscribe to our RSS feeds and have fresh ecommerce content delivered to you.
Ecommerce Resources
- Free Email Newsletter
- Sign up for Ecommerce Notes, our free email newsletter for ecommerce business owners and developers.
- Ecommerce Directory
- Browse our directory of ecommerce products and services, or submit your own listing in our directory.
- Ecommerce Glossary
- Familiarize yourself with terminology or submit terms to help others with our Ecommerce Glossary.
- Events Calendar
- Find out about upcoming ecommerce events or invite other ecommerce professionals by posting your own event.
- Press Releases
- Browse ecommerce related press releases and post your own press release for distribution.
- Ecommerce Store & Back Issues
- Pick up back issues of Practical eCommerce magazine along with other merchandise from Practical Ecommerce
About Practical eCommerce
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Look at frequently asked questions regarded using our website, subscribing to our magazine and more.
- Advertising Information
- Information about advertising in Practical eCommerce magazine, on our website, or in our email newsletters.
- Editorial Sharing
- Learn about options for sharing our content with your visitors, customers or employees.
- About Us
- Learn more about Practical Ecommerce magazine and meet our staff.
- Contact Us
- Contact Practical Ecommerce at any time for more information. We'd love to hear from you.
Copyright 2007 Confluence Distribution, Inc. and Practical eCommerce.
All Rights Reserved.
John, Great Article.
However, the article mentioned " Register the names with the U.S. trademark office and perhaps one or two other offices." What are the names of the one or two other offices?
Thanks.
Regards, Greg
Posted by: Greg
Tuesday, April 03, 2007