AN ABERDEEN-BASED translation firm has had its website design pirated by a company in China.
Lingo24, which has its headquarters in Dyce and offices in London and Edinburgh, has had its whole site’s design and layout copied by a company called Universecy, which also claims to be a translation service based in Jiangsu.
The Universecy site uses identical wording, pictures and links to Lingo24, and even uses references to their staff members and Aber- donian roots.
Christian Arno, founder and managing director of Lingo24, said: “Anyone familiar with the Lingo24 site would be fooled into thinking it was ours.”
Lingo24 became aware of Universecy when a Google alert was sent to a member of staff. The alert was set up to send a message every time something appeared online with the company’s name.
Mr Arno said: “This is a real threat to businesses, and could have a negative impact on search engine rankings. We will inform Google to ensure that doesn’t happen.
“But apart from taking legal action in China which is difficult and expensive, and complaining to their internet service provider or hosting company, there’s very little we can do.”
Peter Murray, partner at Aberdeen law firm Ledingham Chalmers, said there were obstacles to Lingo24 successfully pursuing a case of copyright theft in China.
He said: “It’s a practical difficulty, as this is an area where the law is unsatisfactory and there are no international internet policemen who can tackle an issue like this.
“The company could include a note on its site, highlighting that the copycat is operating without any links to its own operations – this should help to ensure that existing and potential clients aren’t misled.”