IP protection, including branding, is one of the key issues that will shape global economies in the 21st century. A brand is a highly valuable corporate asset and in some cases can represent more than 50% of a company's net worth. With the growth of the Internet, organisations are quickly realising that monitoring and protecting brand and copyright usage has become exponentially harder.
There are basically four groups of Web-based threats: phishing, brand-based, domain-based and web linking that manifest themselves in such infractions as passing off, 'cyber-squatting', 'typo- squatting', brand and logo abuse, protest issues, piracy and copying, and hacking and cracking.
While the task of protecting a brand online may seem overwhelming, it is a vital component of business protection in today's competitive environment. It is critical to an organisation's reputation to have comprehensive knowledge of what is being said about a brand, by whom, and what type of response is needed.
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