Online reviews or content disparages your brand reputation. How do you decide whether to take countermeasures?

Your first step is to determine if this review or story will natural fade away or is likely to snowball and cause lasting damage to your reputation in the marketplace. You must give the situation a non-emotional evaluation and in light of the fact that the overwhelming majority of online content is never read.

If you decide defensive action is warranted, you may want to consider options such as these:

  1. DIY approach: Asking a social network or web host to remove content that infringes on your IP rights or violates on the site’s terms and conditions relating to defamatory content
  2. Involving a lawyer: A cease and desist demand, injunction, or lawsuit against the writer alleging defamation, unfair competition, breach of contract, copyright or trademark infringement or other legal causes of action