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RESCUECOM Corporation

Type	Private
Founded	Syracuse, New York, USA (November 1997)[1]
Headquarters	Syracuse, New York, United States
Key people	David A. Milman, Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Industry	Computer Technical Support IT Support 24/7 Service and Repair Franchising Computer Services
Employees	400+ (2007)[2]
Website	rescuecom.com

RESCUECOM corporation is an American national computer repair franchise with a Syracuse, NY based call center to assist both businesses and home users with on-site and remote technical support.

History

Rescuecom was founded by David A. Milman in 1997. Milman owned and operated several tech support companies since 1985, when he began with $100.00 selling computers out of his college apartment. Unable to attain significant company growth in his first 12 years, Milman decided to re-brand and franchise his business, and Rescuecom was formed.^[3]

Public Reports and Contributions

In October 2006, October 2007 and December 2008 Rescuecom released its first, second and third annual Computer Reliability Report, which is an evaluation of 20,000 service calls to their call center charting the performance of major computer manufacturers. The results of the report may determine the reliability of computers, above and beyond what repairs are covered by vendor warranties. Rescuecom achieved this data by comparing the percentage of calls to their call center to the different computer companies’ percentage of U.S. market share. ^[4] In October 2007, Rescuecom released its second annual reliability report, ranking Apple computers as the most reliable.^[5] In December 2008, Rescuecom released its third annual reliability report, ranking Apple computers as the most reliable.^[6]

In 2006, Rescuecom also released a “Top Five Computer Problems” report detailing the most common problems and complaints received by their call center. The determinations illuminate the trends among software, hardware, and networking problems that arise in the home and business market.^{[7 ]}

Public Incidents

In 2006, Rescuecom Corporation filed a lawsuit against Google, Inc. claiming trademark violation under the Lanham Act. The allegations stated that Google, Inc. was selling Rescuecom's trademarks as keywords for their search engine to Rescuecom competitors. Google's Keyword Recommendation Tool has recommended "Rescuecom" as a potential keyword competitors could purchase. This meant that if someone was to search for the word “Rescuecom” on the Google search engine, competing companies' ads would appear near the search results as "sponsored links". On September 28, 2006, the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York ruled in favor of Google, finding that the practice of selling a trademarked keyword was not a commercial use of the trademark itself since the competing ads did not display the trademark. ^[8] Rescuecom appealed, and in April 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit overturned the District Court's ruling, so the case is now likely to go to trial unless there is a settlement between the parties.^[9]

Marketing

Since 1997 Rescuecom has grown exponentially into a major player in the tech support market. They have been recognized as a Fast Growth Company^[10] by Computer Reseller News magazine in 2008, ranked #90.

Rescuecom is recognized as a Franchise 500^[11] company by Entrepreneur Magazine in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006,2007, and 2008. In 2007, they were ranked at #213.^[1]

Rescuecom’s slogan, “Fast and Flawless, 24/7”,^[2] is a brand promise intended to claim prompt and satisfactory computer service around the clock.

Rescuecom has appeared in a variety of news outlets, including several Fox^[12], NBC^[13], and CBS affiliates. Rescuecom is most frequently featured giving user-friendly advice regarding common computer issues, ranging from virus threats, computer reliability, daylight savings conversion, and general computer health related information. Rescuecom has also been featured for similar expert analysis in print media, such as PCWorld^[14], ComputerWorld^[15], and CNET News^[16].

External links

• Official Website
• Franchise Information
• Press Release about Google Lawsuit 2009-4-20

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Rescuecom Franchise". The Franchise Mall. 2005. http://www.thefranchisemall.com/franchises/details/10751-0-Rescuecom.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-07.  
2. ^ ^{a b} ""RESCUECOM Named to 2008 CRN ‘Fast Growth 100′ List"". ereleases.com. August 28, 2008. http://www.ereleases.com/pr/rescuecom-named-2008-crn-fast-growth-100-list-12935. Retrieved 2009-03-02.  
3. ^ ""How to Compete with the Big Guys"". smallbusinessadvocate.com. September 12, 2007. http://www.smallbusinessadvocate.com/cgi-bin/archivesbybtsub.cgi?bt=1425&sub=-1&mediatype=1. Retrieved September 13, 2007.  
4. ^ ""Lenovo/IBM, Apple Top RESCUECOM’s Computer Reliability Report"". prnewswire.com. October 16, 2006. http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/10-16-2006/0004452211&EDATE. Retrieved September 19, 2007.  
5. ^ ""Macs take reliability, support prize"". computerworld.com. October 29, 2007. http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9044618. Retrieved January 18, 2008.  
6. ^ ""Mac beats all comers on reliability, support ... again"". computerworld.com. December 18, 2008. http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9123738. Retrieved January 18, 2008.  
7. ^ ""Windows is the Number One Source of Computer Problems"". softpedia.com. 2006. http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-is-the-Number-One-Source-of-Computer-Problems-44664.shtml. Retrieved September 19, 2007.  
8. ^ ""RESCUECOM vs. Google, Inc. Court Documents"". United States District Court – Northern District of New York. September 28, 2006. http://w2.eff.org/legal/cases/rescuecom_v_google/EFF_amicus.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-02.  
9. ^ Reuters, Appeals court: Google should defend trademark suit, ZDNet (Apr. 3, 2009).
10. ^ "CRN Fastgrowth 100". CRN-Computer Reseller News. 2008. http://www.crn.com/it-channel/209600540?pgno=9. Retrieved 2008-07-25.  
11. ^ "Franchise 500". Entrepreneur Magazine. 2007. http://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/rankings/franchise500-115608/2007,-1.html. Retrieved 2009-03-02.  
12. ^ "" File Destroying Computer Worm Fizzles Out "". FoxNews.com – Associated Press. February 6, 2006. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,183683,00.html. Retrieved 2009-03-04.  
13. ^ "" Computer Reliabilty Reports – NBC Affiliate"". KHNL – NBC Affiliate. December 15, 2006. http://www.khnl.com/global/story.asp?s=9525276&ClientType=Printable. Retrieved 2009-03-04.  
14. ^ "" Mac Gets Top Scores for Reliability and Support "". PCWorld.com. December 17, 2008. http://www.pcworld.com/article/155650/mac_most_reliable.html?tk=rss_news. Retrieved 2009-03-04.  
15. ^ ""Wait six months after SP1 to tackle Vista"". computerworld.com. August 28, 2007. http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleCoverage&articleId=9000173&continuingCoverageId=1020&intsrc=article_cc_report_bot. Retrieved 2009-03-04.  
16. ^ "" Daylight saving change proves thorny for businesses "". news.cnet.com. March 8, 2007. http://news.cnet.com/Daylight-saving-change-proves-thorny-for-businesses/2100-1011_3-6165694.html?tag=mncol. Retrieved 2009-03-04.