OUR CLIENTS

Audemars Piguet Reclaims Its Domain Name

Posted on May 26, 2009
Julie Le Vacon

For those not familiar with Audemars Piguet, it is a Swiss brand founded in 1875 by two men with a passion for watchmaking, Jules-Louis Audemars and Edward-Auguste Piguet. Today, the Swiss manufacturer has become an international luxury brand, and like its competitors, the brand must protect its image both offline and online.

During the past 6 years, the domain name "Audemars Piguet" had been cyber-squatted by an illegitimate holder. This holder was using the brand’s name for commercial gains through a parking page containing commercial links to sites selling fake watches.

The domain name game has considerable stakes! A cyber-squatted site damages the image of the pirated brand. It also reduces the brand’s visibility, and thus also its chances to make sales, especially in case of counterfeit product promotion on the website in question.

In order to protect its e-reputation and to fight against the cyber-squatting to which it fell victim, the brand called on Vanksen-LegitiName, a company specializing in the protection and promotion of brands. After 8 months of negotiations with the cybersquatter, LegitiName finally won. "It has been an 8 month fight that has now ended in success. We have protected a brand that has been under attack by web pirates for several years. [...] We will not let these types of individuals use our brand awareness, cause harm to the watchmaking industry and make counterfeiting profitable", explains Stefano Maddalena, head of the Judicial Department of Audemars Piguet.

The mission of the Vanksen-LegitiName experts is to analyze the level of damage done to a brand’s intellectual property rights, as well as the severity of the damage. Cecile Lhemery, LegitiName account manager explains: "We advise our clients to put into place some measures that we find indispensable because sites identified as fraudulent take away sales opportunities and negatively impact a brand’s image. It is extremely important to protect domain names in order to protect oneself from long term danger".

In a time where Internet has taken on colossal proportions in the act of purchasing, it is crucial for brands to take an interest in their e-reputation. The actions taken by LegitiName for Audemars Piguet have been covered by different media.