GenuNet 3.0 Allows Companies to Proactively Search eBay and Trade Boards to Better Control Their Online Brand and Distribution Channels
Boston, Mass, May 5, 2003 – GenuOne, a privately held company and leading provider of brand security solutions, today announced GenuNet 3.0, the latest release of its Internet monitoring software. GenuNet 3.0 features new Online Channel Protection modules that allow companies to proactively patrol online distribution channels, including online trading sites, such as eBay and business-to-business trade boards. Through this comprehensive system, companies can dramatically streamline the process of identifying, tracking and responding to intellectual property theft, product counterfeiting, gray-market diversion, and brand abuse issues adversely affecting their business.
"The Internet is the fastest growing sales and distribution channel, so it is critical for companies to proactively protect this new channel from illegal and unauthorized activities," said Jeff Kessler, Lehman Bros. Sr. Analyst. "Online monitoring tools, such as GenuNet, provide brand holders with the technology they need to easily monitor the Internet and track suspect sellers (or sites) that may infringe on their rights, undercut product pricing structures and misrepresent brands."
With the release of 3.0, GenuNet now offers customers two distinct yet complementary categories of online monitoring – brand protection and channel protection.
•Online Brand Protection monitoring ensures the integrity of a company`s brand remains in tact by thwarting efforts to steal its intellectual property, conduct slander, disseminate misinformation, and illegally leverage its marketing dollars.
•The new Online Channel Protection offering secures the online marketplace from fraud and lost revenue streams by authenticating reseller channel compliance, extracting key product information (including pricing) for the identification of potential counterfeit and gray-market goods, and profiling seller activity for indications of suspicious physical world supply sourcing.
Through an API license agreement with eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY), the GenuNet 3.0 software queries eBay listings and provides customers who are part of the Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) program with advanced search and filtering capabilities, email notification alerts, and the ability to send automated item listing discontinuation notices to eBay`s VeRO program or warning letters directly to sellers who infringe on a company`s property rights.
"Our customers know that the name, Montblanc, stands for quality and craftsmanship. As such, it is critical that we protect our brand reputation from unauthorized products,"
said Elmarie de Bruin, a lawyer from Richemont. "GenuNet`s advanced search and filtering capabilities save us valuable time and resources allowing us to focus on responding to trademark infringement and counterfeit sales. The new features in GenuNet 3.0 will alert us of potentially infringing auctions and help automate the process of taking action against this activity. This will help Montblanc ensure brand integrity and provide customers with confidence that they are purchasing genuine products."
Additionally, GenuNet 3.0 includes a number of back-end process improvements, including automated extraction of product pricing information, new algorithms for the removal of false positives, system speed efficiencies, and more robust workflow management tools.
"By combining both online brand and channel monitoring features, GenuNet 3.0 offers our Fortune 500 client base, including companies in consumer electronics, computer hardware, textiles and apparel, luxury goods, and pharmaceutical industries, the most comprehensive way to protect their brands and secure their channels online," said Jeffrey Unger, president and CEO of GenuOne. "The new features in GenuNet will save our customers time, resources and ultimately money, by automating many of the processes associated with identifying, tracking and responding to brand infringement, counterfeiting or product diversion."
GenuNet 3.0 will be generally available in 30 days. A sample list of GenuOne`s clients includes Xerox, Cartier, Bacardi, Kodak and Montblanc.
About GenuOne, Inc.
GenuOne is a world leader in brand security. Our ASP software, security marking technologies and professional services offer our global 2000 client base a proactive approach to authentication, tracking and online brand protection solutions. We drive ROI-focused systems to eliminate issues of global counterfeiting and gray-market diversion in both the supply chain and the Internet. GenuOne`s client base comprises corporations in the Pharmaceutical, High Tech, Luxury Goods, Consumer Electronics, Textiles and Apparel industries, as well as the U.S. Federal Government. For more information on GenuOne, please visit our website at www.genuone.com or call 617-226-3000.
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