Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

The Intellectual Property StrategistFeaturesIntellectual PropertyLitigationTrademarks

What's Your Trademark Worth? Determining the Value of Trademarks For Collateral, Sale or Licensing

By Stacey C. Kalamaras and Henry Kaskov
September 01, 2020

We all know that trademarks are valuable business assets and that's why we, as intellectual property counsel, go to such great lengths to register and protect our client's trademarks. What happens when times are tough? If a client needs money, can it turn to its trademark portfolio to generate income or securitize a loan? Does the goodwill a client company has worked so hard to build mean anything when there is a financial crisis? This article explores the options available to a client to value its trademarks during a financial crisis, to ensure one of the most valuable assets it owns can continue to work for the company and see it through the lean times so that it can continue to exist and flourish for many years to come.

Why Trademark Registrations Are So Valuable

Unlike other branches of intellectual property law, where the rights lapse after a span of time, trademark registrations are valuable because they can last indefinitely, so long as they continue to be used in commerce as a distinctive brand to distinguish a client's goods and services. A federal trademark registration is required to take down social media infringers, combat counterfeiters, and sell a client's wares in an Amazon seller store. A registration can be helpful when seeking an investment for any start-up or new business, writing cease and desist letters, or suing infringers. It significantly increases the value of any license agreement and initial public stock offering, or when it's time to securitize a portfolio or sell the business.

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It Image

Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?

Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later Image

The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.

A Lawyer's System for Active Reading Image

Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.

Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent Trolls Image

With trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.