[jshepherd]

I just thought we should discuss how honest and ethical American Pearl (AmericanPearl.com) really is. Below you will find their latest Google adwords advertisement. They are intentionally infringing upon our trademark in an attempt to steal away customers that come looking for Pearl Paradise.

Google is very clear what is and is not acceptable. It is acceptable to advertise on Pearl Paradise search results. Google makes that very clear, and most pearl companies do advertise on each mutual search result. However, AmericanPearl.com is breaking US trademark law by advertising not on our name, but as our name, Pearl Paradise.

This is the second time AmericanPearl.com has done this. The first time was immediately after our company was profiled in The Wall Street Journal. They knew we were getting hundreds of thousands of visitors, and they apparently wanted to steal them. I threatened a DMCA complaint against them, and they immediately removed the infringement. But here they are again. They claim to be “the most honest and reputable pearl dealer”, yet feel that trademarks and US law mean nothing. I am sure they know that a Google complaint takes 3 days, and I can and will have them yanked from Google in 3 days. But I am quite certain they intend to remove their ad before that.

[Zeide Erskine]

That must have been one of the world's fastest reactions to a forum post by a commercial enterprise. At least I could not reproduce your search result. A converse search (i.e. googling American Pearl) mostly showed mentions of a rock band. Maybe AmericanPearl.com is in the process of changing its name.
What an ethical shame!

Zeide

[purepearls]

No, it is still there. Go to the second page of the search. It doesn't come up on the first page but does so on the second page.

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Amanda,

I do not get such a hit even on page 2, 3, 4, or 5.

However, in my search for some honest rating of AP, I found a new hoot: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...y-20/ref=nosim

Zeide

[jshepherd]

That is strange. I get it still for "pearl paradise", and "pearlparadise". You should also be able to see National Pearl and Pearls Only advertsiing there, but they are not using our name - that is the big difference.
I did file a DMCA report earlier today, however, and I did it by fax instead of mail. So it is possible Google has already taken action. The ads could just be coming down slowly. Either that or AmericanPearl.com is already pulling the ads.

[pearltime]

Originally Posted by jshepherd

That is strange. I get it still for "pearl paradise", and "pearlparadise". You should also be able to see National Pearl and Pearls Only advertsiing there, but they are not using our name - that is the big difference.
I did file a DMCA report earlier today, however, and I did it by fax instead of mail. So it is possible Google has already taken action. The ads could just be coming down slowly. Either that or AP is already pulling the ads.

Edit

Now they are all gone, including the regular ads. Interesting...

Absolutely mind-blowing. Who would ever think?

[mikehrz]

Looks like they are all gone, as I didn't see any such ads. Just when AP seems to have sunk as low as they can, they proceed to sink even lower. How sad. Wonder if Charlie Bakhash knows what is being done in the name of the company he spent most of his life nuturing?

[Pearls_by_Angela_Carol]

Originally Posted by boo

Nope - not all gone (or maybe back again?). It comes up on the first page for me.

Same here. Searching on pearl paradise (no quotes) brings it up on the first page. "pearl paradise" (with quotes) brings it up on the second page.

[Valeria101]

The phony Google add doesn't show up for me either.

Could it possibly be a local bug?

[pattye]

I did see the ad yesterday, but not on the 1st 2 pages this am, anyway, search without quotes.
pattye

[Pearls_by_Angela_Carol]

It may depend on either your country (if the AdWords ads are localized) or the Google Data center that you are hitting with you do a search (there are a few).

[purepearls]

It also depends on the amount they are spending. Google ads only show up a certain amount of times depending on the number of clicks they are getting and their budget.

[mikehrz]

Still no AP ads, using 3 different browsers though that may not make a difference, but I did see the ebay and nextag ads.

[jshepherd]

I cannot believe what I am seeing today! If you do a search for PearlParadise.com on google today, AmericanPearl.com is now advertising as PearlParadise.com in the title tag! Basically they are claiming to be PearlParadise.com.

I do not think there is anyone, anywhere who cannot determine what AmericanPearl.com is doing is fraud, pure and simple. The company that is quickly losing ground online, resorting to dirty and unethical tactics, has now lost all reason and morals.

Wasn't one of their advertising mottos something about them being honest and reputable?

So after this, is there anyone who believes their new fantastic claims about nacre thickness, etc?

I know I should feel sick watching them pull such a stunt. But I don't. I just feel sad, for them.. watching their integrity disintegrate so quickly.

[jshepherd]

I think they are just reading this forum. Their ads came down less than 15 minutes after I posted here. Google is not the culprit, it is absolutely intentional. I cannot edit the screen shot I took because I am on my mobile, but there is no question. The only pay-per-click result for the search term PearlParadise.com was:

PearlParadise.com
Your Source for Flawless Pearls.
americanpearl.com

Anyone that utilizes adwords knows that this can only be intentional. Why are they doing it when they know I will talk about it here? I have no idea!

AmericanPearl.com, listen up! You can advertise in our search results, but you cannot advertise as PearlParadise! Why is that concept so difficult for you to grasp?!