Everpure Extends BrandProtect Relationship to Protect Its Brand Integrity and Manage Online Risks

TORONTO--(CCNMatthews - January 29, 2007) - BrandProtect, the industry leader in online brand protection, today announced that Everpure, LLC, a trusted provider of water treatment products to the food service, vending and office coffee service, residential, marine and aviation markets, has renewed its contract for brand protection services. As a result, Everpure will continue to rely on BrandProtect to protect the integrity of its brand from online risk exposure, as well as safeguard the online experience for its customers. As a leader in the water purification market, Everpure's brand has become a corporate asset for the company. With a majority of commerce now happening on the Internet, the company first selected BrandProtect in 2004 to help ensure a consistent online brand experience by authorized dealers and to identify trademark infringements. By continuously monitoring the Internet for references to the Everpure brand, BrandProtect's services identify hundreds of online infractions each quarter that would otherwise go undetected. These infractions can include legitimate Everpure vendors using outdated logos or product photos as well as ensuring that only authorized dealers are linking to the Everpure Web site. The company has recently expanded its use of BrandProtect's services to help mitigate other online risks such as traffic diversion and illegitimate sites masquerading as Everpure distributors. When competitors embed Everpure terms within their own Web site's metadata or online advertisements, potential customers conducting online searches for Everpure products can be redirected to a competitive site. Not only can this impact company sales, but also brand equity as the sites may make false claims of compatibility and may be of a lower quality or standard than the Everpure products. "It is critical for our brand and identity to be protected in the increasingly Internet-based global marketplace," said Eleni Yianas, director of residential marketing at Everpure. "We wanted an online brand protection company that could provide us with the quickest and highest quality monitoring and actionable results, and BrandProtect was the answer. Their unique reporting services enable us to respond to each violation against our brand immediately to not only protect our integrity but also ensure that consumers have a consistent and reliable online brand experience and that they receive safe, legitimate products." BrandProtect provides Everpure with actionable online analysis of brand representation by using a combination of highly skilled personnel and proprietary Internet technology that monitors billions of Web pages. Once relevant brand-related content is identified, BrandProtect's personnel analyze the data for authority, quality and accuracy. Reports are delivered to Everpure through an online portal, where the company can easily view the details of each infraction, including a cached copy of each Web site when it was detected. This forensic information can be leveraged as evidence if legal action is required. Within the portal, Everpure can also provide BrandProtect with guidance on the appropriate action to take on each infringement -- to notify site holders of an infraction, work with the ISP to shut down a site or send appropriate logos/photos for updating the site. BrandProtect then handles communication to those violators, eliminating the need for Everpure to contact those parties directly. "Today it has become increasingly important for brand holders to have a strategy in place to protect their online presence and safeguard their customers from brand misrepresentation," said Daniel Jones, vice president of sales at BrandProtect. "Everpure is a great example of how companies are employing BrandProtect services to improve the online customer experience and protect themselves against a variety of online risks. We look forward to continuing our relationship with Everpure by monitoring the Internet to provide them with unmatched protection against online risks." About BrandProtect (www.brandprotect.com) Incorporated in 2001, BrandProtect is an online brand security company protecting an organization's clients, brands and revenues from fraud and other abuses. It is also the sister company for BrandIntel, a research company that analyzes online consumer-published content to advance business decision-making. With over 150 clients, BrandProtect is recognized for transforming the way Fortune 1000 companies address brand risks and opportunities due to the growth of the Internet. BrandProtect's mission is to leverage the combined power of technology and human analysis to make business strategy, sales/marketing and operations better, faster and more efficient. The company's award-winning technology platform creates an incredibly rich market opportunity for companies to take advantage of the Web in order to manage, protect or grow their brands. By leveraging the company's extensive experience in operations, business development, industry verticals and technology, BrandProtect provides its clients with a distinct competitive advantage. BrandProtect is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with offices in the United States and Singapore. For more information, visit www.brandprotect.com.

Contact Information: Lauren Drost Lois Paul & Partners 781-782-5732 lauren_drost@lpp.com or Tammy Kennedy Everpure, LLC 630-307-3019 tkennedy@everpure.com