Forensic Accounting
Brand Protection
Computer Forensics
Corporate Investigation

Volume 8 - No. 1                    Download PDF

In this edition of 
The Kessler Report:

Staying a Step Ahead of Stock Scams

Boiler Rooms Go
High-Tech: Online Investment Fraud

Signs You're Dealing With a Smooth Criminal

Web Monitoring Firms: Far Reaching or Far-Fetched?

Non-Compete Agreements: The Extra Step in Intellectual Property Protection

Q&A: Theft in the Workplace

Kessler's Corner:  Investment Fraud

FYI: Operation
Brand Aid

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Web Monitoring Firms: Far Reaching or Far-Fetched?  

You’ve just started a new company.  The logo for the company is a picture of your pet cockatiel “Polly.”  All of your business cards, letterheads, and your new web page include the logo of your cockatiel.  You’ve started your business skillfully, and the sales keep rising.  Soon your company logo is almost as recognizable as your company name, and more often than not people remember your company by saying, “Oh yeah, I see your trucks with the white cockatiel painted on the side all the time!”  Your logo is a valuable commodity to your business, because often people only have the logo to go on when they’re searching the internet or advertisements for the type of service your company offers.  Therefore, it is important to protect that cockatiel logo, and make sure other companies aren’t using the image to direct traffic away from your business.  That’s where web monitoring firms and investigative firms come in; to protect your image and logos from being infringed upon by other companies looking to profit from your ideas.  

However, you also need to be aware of what kind of services you can expect from these firms.  What can internet monitoring and investigative firms do for your company?  What are their limitations?  Are they as far reaching as some of them claim to be, or are their broad-based claims a little far-fetched?  The key to understanding the legitimacy of these claims lies in the wording and the timing.  

Very often you’ll come across firms that advertise image and brand protection as their newest “technology.”  They will claim the new technology can search the entire Internet and detect images, logos or brands that are being used online.  Brochures proclaim that they possess “trademark and image recognition technology,” while other marketing tools suggest the use of “intelligent software agents” to scan and search millions of web pages, message postings, images and other web content to locate the target picture of logo.  In a nutshell, they’ll tell you that they can take your cockatiel image, scan it into their newest technology or software, and search the entire Internet for instances where the cockatiel image is used.  What’s more, they’ll do all this outstanding investigative work in a matter of a few short days.  If it sounds too good to be true, it’s because it is.  

Kessler International conducted a survey of web monitoring firms and investigative firms that claim to offer this “technology.”  Out of all the firms we spoke to, only one legitimately had even the slightest claim to the truth behind this service.  This firm uses a high-tech, high-cost super computer to scan images, brands and logos being used on the Internet.  This service costs a great deal, and takes about two months.  Far from the “few days” other firms advertise.  And even with this super computer at their disposal, the firm admits that even they cannot search the entire World Wide Web.  It is simply impossible to search the whole Internet.  What other firms are claiming, in reality, amounts to a search engine hunt of a small fraction of the Internet, which can be done in days and reported back to you.  They are conducting a search, and they may catch some infringing companies using your cockatiel logo, but are they searching the entire Internet?  No way.  Here are some key elements to watch out for.  

The Timing
If you’re shopping around for a web monitoring firm, one of the first questions you should ask is the length of the investigations.  If the firm you’re speaking to tells you they can have a search of the entire Internet back to you in a matter of days, hang up the phone.  They’re not giving you the truth on their capabilities, and chances are, if they’re stretching the truth about their services, they could be stretching the truth about everything else, from the results right down to the bill they send you.  Better to have a company tell you what their limitations are and be up front with you, than have them sell you snake oil for a hefty price.  

The Expanse
Another question to ask a firm is the breadth or expanse of the search.  Be aware that no matter which firm you choose to go with, it is impossible for them to search the entire World Wide Web for instances of logo or brand infringement.  The search they perform can be extensive, and even successful, but it’s not the entire Internet.  If a firm tells you otherwise, they’re stretching the truth.  And when you’re choosing a firm and entrusting them with your intellectual property and the livelihood of your business, do you really want a dishonest firm?  The reality is that all firms are only capable of searching a fraction of the content put out on the Internet.  Some can conduct a more expansive search than others, but all have their limitations, and that’s something you need to be aware of.  

The main issue at hand is honesty, not the capabilities of modern technology.  We were shocked at how many firms were using pitch lines and inaccurate advertising, the likes of which you would expect from a stereotypical, sleazy used car salesman with a polyester suit and a shiny gold tooth.  But this is not a two-thousand dollar lemon you could get burned on.  This is about using a firm you can trust with perhaps millions of dollars in revenue.  This is about establishing a relationship with an investigative firm that will be with you through the long-haul of your business life, and be honest with not only the services they provide, but the prices they charge.  Don’t be fooled by swindlers who are just looking to make some fast money.  Go with a firm that gives you peace of mind; a firm that’s going to be up front with you on what can or can’t be done.  There are enough crooks out there that could be making money off your cockatiel logo.  Don’t hire another crook to look for them.

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