NameProtect Inc., a digital brand protection company, today announced the upcoming release of its Search Engine AdTracker(SM) service. Part of the company’s VigilActive(R) suite of online brand protection tools, the new service will allow trademark owners to identify competitors and other companies buying their trademarks online.
Because search engines are a primary way in which consumers access information online, they can have a large impact on the online presence for a wide range of companies. Sponsored search listings–which allow advertisers to pay to be prominently listed in the search results for certain keywords–is a large and fast growing segment of the search advertising market. According to Jupiter Research, paid search listings will provide $2.1 billion dollars of advertising revenue this year alone, as companies work to find ways to reach Internet users. A number of the search engines that provide sponsored listings allow advertisers to buy trademarked terms, a practice that can have serious implications for brand-holding companies. Several lawsuits have been filed by trademark owners in both the U.S. and internationally protesting this practice, but experts predict the issue will remain unsettled for a long period of time.
Recently, Google made the choice to let companies buy search term advertising for trademarked keywords and let the courts decide the outcome. Inside the US and Canada they will not allow trademark terms to appear in the ad copy. Outside those areas they will check ad text and keyword.
Leveraging NameProtect’s Internet analysis technology, the new Search Engine AdTracker service allows brand holders to monitor these sponsored search listings on a daily basis to guard against competitors and other companies buying their name and trading on the value of their trademarks. A subscription-based service, AdTracker results will be delivered through NameProtect’s advanced online reporting and management interface, allowing trademark and brand professionals to monitor their rights on a proactive and continuous basis in this fast changing environment with little manual effort. Users can customize the service to meet their specific priorities and workflow objectives, setting both the number of search terms monitored and the frequency of updates into the NameProtect online system.
“NameProtect works hard to help brand-holding companies address new and evolving threats to their rights in the digital environment,” said Mark McLane, chief executive officer of NameProtect. “With our AdTracker service, companies will be able to efficiently police their rights in the important online search arena and ensure that their trademarks aren’t being sold to the highest bidder.”
