Brand Management

Module 4
Anyone launching a product or service, whether on-line or off-line, will put a lot of thought into what to offer
and how to go about offering it. In particular, most businesses invest a lot of time and money in creating a brand
which will appeal to consumers and set its products or services apart from competitors. For this reason, a
business will not want anyone else pretending to be associated with it and piggy-backing on its reputation.
The brand of a business is an example of intellectual property, and can be one of the most valuable assets of the
on-line business. As an example, when the infamous boo.com went into liquidation, the most sought after assets
of the business were the domain name and trade marks; in other words, the boo.com brand. It is therefore
important to a business to secure the rights in its brand.
Trade marks
Choosing a brand
Before settling on a brand, you should carry out some research to ensure that no one else is already using the
proposed brand. Searching through an internet search engine and on the Companies House web site will be a
good starting point to determine whether another business is trading under the name or using the brand.
Protecting your own rights is important, but it is equally important to ensure that you do not infringe the rights
of other people. You should therefore check that someone has not already registered your chosen brand name as
a trade mark. A basic search can be carried out on the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) web site, or Trade Mark
Agents can carry out a more detailed trade mark clearance search for you.
A combination of the above searches will be the most useful approach: the trade mark clearance search will
identify whether the same or a similar brand has already been registered, whilst the internet searches may
identify unregistered trade marks which are being used by other companies.
Establishing and protecting a brand
The strongest form of protection for a brand is a registered trade mark. Basically, trade marks identify the
products or services of traders, to enable consumers to distinguish between the products and services of
different traders. You will often see a brand with the letters 'TM' after it; this is to identify a trade mark of the
business. There is nothing to stop you putting 'TM' after your business name or brand, to show that you are
asserting rights in it as a trade mark. However, the symbol denotes a registered trade mark and it is an offence
to use this symbol with a trade mark which has not been registered.
If a trade mark is registered, special rules apply which simplify the way in which it can be protected.
Unregistered trade marks can also be protected, however, it is much cheaper and easier for a business to enforce
its rights in a registered trade mark than in an unregistered trade mark. For this reason, businesses should
consider obtaining registered trade marks to protect their brands. Most countries have their own systems for
trade mark protection and registration.
Trademark
A trademark is a recognizable sign, design or expression which identifies products or services of a particular
source from those of others. The trademark owner can be an individual, business organization, or any legal
entity. A trademark may be located on a package, alabel, a voucher or on the product itself.
Trademarks are used to claim exclusive properties of products or services. The usage of trademarks by its owner
can cause legal issues if this usage makes him guilty of false advertising or if the trademark is offensive
Trademarks can be owned, but also licensed. Many toy suppliers are licensees. For example:

Bullyland obtained a licence to produce Smurf figurines.

The Lego Group purchased a license from Lucasfilm in order to be allowed to launch Lego Star Wars.

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Module 4

Prepared by Belli

Brand Management

TT Toys Toys is a manufacturer of licenced ride-on replica cars for children.[7]

The unauthorised usage of trademarks by producing and trading counterfeit consumer goods is known as brand
piracy.
The unauthorised usage of trademarks by producing and trading counterfeit consumer goods is known as brand
piracy.
A trademark may be designated by the following symbols:

(the "trademark symbol", which is the letters "TM", for an unregistered trademark, a mark used to
promote or brand goods)

(which is the letters "SM" in superscript, for an unregistered service mark, a mark used to promote or
brand services)

(the letter "R" surrounded by a circle, for a registered trademark)

A trademark is typically a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, image, or a combination of these elements.
[8]
There is also a range of non-conventional trademarks comprising marks which do not fall into these standard
categories, such as those based on color, smell, or sound (like jingles).
The term trademark is also used informally to refer to any distinguishing attribute by which an individual is
readily identified, such as the well-known characteristics of celebrities. When a trademark is used in relation to
services rather than products, it may sometimes be called a service mark, particularly in the United States
The law considers a trademark to be a form of property. Proprietary rights in relation to a trademark may be
established through actual use in the marketplace, or through registration of the mark with the trademarks
office (or "trademarks registry") of a particular jurisdiction. In some jurisdictions, trademark rights can be
established through either or both means. Certain jurisdictions generally do not recognize trademarks rights
arising through use. If trademark owners do not hold registrations for their marks in such jurisdictions, the
extent to which they will be able to enforce their rights through trademark infringement proceedings will
therefore be limited. In cases of dispute, this disparity of rights is often referred to as "first to file" as opposed to
"first to use." Other countries such as Germany offer a limited amount of common law rights for unregistered
marks where to gain protection, the goods or services must occupy a highly significant position in the
marketplace where this could be 40% or more market share for sales in the particular class of goods or
services.
A registered trademark confers a bundle of exclusive rights upon the registered owner, including the right to
exclusive use of the mark in relation to the products or services for which it is registered. The law in most
jurisdictions also allows the owner of a registered trademark to prevent unauthorized use of the mark in relation
to products or services which are identical or "colourfully" similar to the "registered" products or services, and
in certain cases, prevent use in relation to entirely dissimilar products or services. The test is always whether a
consumer of the goods or services will be confused as to the identity of the source or origin.
BRAND NAME CLASSIFICATION
Descriptive brands: the name describes a key benefit or aspect associated with the product and services
(UJALA).
Person-based brands: with this approach the product and services are identified by the names of owners,
partners or key individuals (ADAG group). Very commonly used by attorneys and physicians (HANEMAN),
celebrity named perfumes., etc.
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Brand Management
Associative brands: this type of branding uses fabricated words, or words that do not normally have meaning
in this context, and then uses promotion to forge them into an identity (AIRTEL, IDEA,FA etc).
Geographic brand names: this strategy can be used in several different ways.One approach uses local or
regional folklore to create a down home feel for the product or service. Another variant of this strategy is to
use words like INDIAN or US to provide a patriotic appeal. Finally, distant geographic names can be used
to create an exotic image. Examples include, American Airlines, Asian paints, AIR INDIA etc.
Alpha-numeric brand names: this approach uses the combination of letters and numbers (either in numerical
form or in script) to describe a product service brand. Sometimes used because numbers have connotations
different than words. Commonly used by banks, examples of this strategy are First Security Bank of Tennessee,
Third National Bank.(foreign brands)
Copyright protection
The term copyright protection may refer to two things:

The monopoly granted to authors by copyright, as in "The 1996 act provided additional copyright
protection," or "Permission is not granted to use these images, which are protected by copyright."

Copy protection mechanisms that prevent data, usually digital data, from being copied. The term
"copyright protection" is occasionally seen in this usage, but is an error; copy protection orDigital Rights
Management is the usual term.

Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive
rights to it, usually for a limited time. Generally, it is "the right to copy", but also gives the copyright holder the
right to be credited for the work, to determine who may adapt the work to other forms, who may perform the
work, who may financially benefit from it, and other related rights. It is a form of intellectual property (like
the patent, the trademark, and the trade secret) applicable to any expressible form of an idea or information that
is substantive and discrete.[clarification needed][1]
Copyright initially was conceived as a way for government to restrict printing; the contemporary intent of
copyright is to promote the creation of new works by giving authors control of and profit from them. Copyrights
are said to be territorial, which means that they do not extend beyond the territory of a specific state unless that
state is a party to an international agreement. Today, however, this is less relevant since most countries are
parties to at least one such agreement. While many aspects of national copyright laws have been standardized
through international copyright agreements, copyright laws of most countries have some unique features.
[2]
Typically, the duration of copyright is the whole life of the creator plus fifty to a hundred years from the
creator's death, or a finite period for anonymous or corporate creations. Some jurisdictions have required
formalities to establishing copyright, but most recognize copyright in any completed work, without formal
registration. Generally, copyright is enforced as a civil matter, though some jurisdictions do
apply criminal sanctions.
Most jurisdictions recognize copyright limitations, allowing "fair" exceptions to the creator's exclusivity of
copyright, and giving users certain rights. The development of digital media and computer network technologies
have prompted reinterpretation of these exceptions, introduced new difficulties in enforcing copyright, and
inspired additional challenges to copyright law's philosophic basis. Simultaneously, businesses with great
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Brand Management
economic dependence upon copyright have advocated the extension and expansion of their intellectual property
rights, and sought additional legal and technological enforcement.
Limitations and exceptions to copyright are provisions in copyright law which allow for copyrighted works to
be used without a license from the copyright owner. Limitations and exceptions to copyright relate to a number
of important considerations such as market failure, freedom of speech,[1] education and equality of access (such
as by the visually impaired). Some view limitations and exceptions as "user rights" - seeing user rights as
providing an essential balance to the rights of the copyright owners. There is no consensus among copyright
experts as to whether user rights are rights or simply limitations on copyright.
Brand as an asset
Every year the branding firm, Interbrand, publishes its dollar valuation of companies it names the best global
brands. The numbers are dramatic:

Number 1, Coca-Cola: brand value $66,667 million

Number 10, Google: brand value $25,590 million

Number 73, Blackberry: brand value $4,802 million

Number 81, Pizza Hut: brand value $4,097 million

Finance projects many companies use intellectual property such as brands as collateral.

Save taxes holding brands in a subsidiary and licensing to a parent can provide tax advantages.

Increase business value by being an asset of identifiable value.

Brands on balance sheet

Intangible assets such as brands generally account for the majority of a company's market value: 70% for
Disney, 76% for Nike, 85% for Heinz and 98% for Microsoft. Secondly, brands are the vehicle through which
companies generate cash: facilitating entry to new markets and categories, allowing premiums to be charged
and aiding the consumer decision making process through differentiation.
Previously, intangible assets were lumped together on the balance sheet under goodwill. This goodwill is now
being separated out into measurable and identifiable intangible assets, such as brands, copyrights and patents.

CET MBA

Module 4

Prepared by Belli