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

CET MBA Module 4 Prepared by Belli

Brand Management

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 CLASSIFICATIONDescriptive 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.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

CET MBA Module 4 Prepared by Belli

Brand Management

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 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

CET MBA Module 4 Prepared by Belli

Brand Management

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