RICHFIELD, Minn., Aug. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorneys for ZEROREZ®, Minnesota's leader in residential carpet cleaning services, filed a federal lawsuit against Distinctive Cleaning in the Minnesota District Court on Monday, August 26. The complaint, which cites trademark infringement, false advertising and deceptive practices, documents many instances in which Distinctive Cleaning has misled consumers through online advertising, digital coupons and deceptive claims made by employees.

ZEROREZ®, a franchise of Zerorez® Franchising Systems, Inc., uses patented Zerorez® cleaning technologies to clean carpets and upholstery without leaving dirt-attracting residue behind. ZEROREZ® is the only Minnesota carpet cleaner licensed to use the patented Zerorez® process and the registered trademark, "Zerorez."

As the complaint states, for more than a year Distinctive Cleaning has been purchasing Google AdWords advertising so the Distinctive Cleaning website link and phone number appear when a consumer searches Google for carpet cleaning services in the Twin Cities area. Distinctive Cleaning has also purchased advertising on the keywords "ZEROREZ," "Zerorez," and "Zero rez" so their information appears when someone searches for those specific terms. Some of Distinctive Cleaning's advertisements include the phrase "ZERO REZ Carpet Cleaning" and appear to provide a link to the ZEROREZ® website; others claim to offer "Zero res – same results, less money."  ZEROREZ® sent a cease and desist letter to Distinctive Cleaning on April 20, 2012 but did not receive a response; the advertisements were changed temporarily to remove "ZERO REZ," but soon the misleading advertisements...

More at source: sys-con.com

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