Who among us hasn't had our younger sibling trail behind us, copying our every move -- the way we talk, the music we listen to, and the things we do for fun?
Now imagine that this younger sibling isn't your brother or sister at all, but some stranger. And it isn't a younger person, it's a peer. And they aren't just trying to immitate you for kicks, but are trying to actually impersonate you to steal your friends (or customers) out from under you. Not so flattering now, is it?
That's the situation Docucopies.com found ourselves in just a couple weeks ago. A certain unscrupulous printing company in the same metro area as us (we don't need to mention names -- they know who they are and we hope the shame they feel is punishment enough, and we would gain nothing by dragging their name through the mud) recently bought up a domain similar to Docucopies.com (picture a different domain type instead of .com) and filled it with worthless, keyword-stuffed content pertaining to various printing services, which linked back to their actual website. At the top of the page was "Docucopies," in a big, bold heading.
Despite Google's ongoing attempts to clamp down on people who manipulate the search engines with tactics like this, we watched this site climb in rankings for some of our target keywords. Obviously this became problematic. Once we informed them and Google of the trademark infringement, they eventually took their site down (though we still haven't received any explanation or apology).
Despite this sheisty move, it is still somewhat flattering, because this means:
- Said company recognized that Docucopies.com is a leader in low-cost, high-quality color copies and printing
- They recognized that we have a huge roster of clients and that our brand is well-known nationally
- They could have chosen any number of companies to impersonate, but they settled on us
So, thanks for that, I guess.
Still, the slight flattery we feel is no reason to rejoice. Musicians who have their music stolen on the Internet may be glad so many people want to hear their music, but that doesn't put those lost royalties in their bank accounts, does it?
In summation, let this serve as a warning to any other companies who are considering misusing our brand name in their marketing. We will find out what you're doing, and if there is any legal recourse whatsoever, we will use it.
It should go without saying, but all companies can learn from this example. Whatever small gains you get from using such shady methods will be erased once you're found out and get sued. So please, whatever marketing plans you employ, try to be ethical, or at least legal, about it.
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