Purchasing a brand name

[Barnie]

I hope this is the right section.

a brand has gone under and we would like to look at purchasing the brand name.

the company is in liquidation so ive emailed the liquidators.


its a bit of a long shot tbh but whats the process as this is new for me. i presume i would put in my offer and if accepted contact a solicitor :|

cheers for any info

Barrie

 

[mitch@volume]

a nice batch of the old stock on eBay as well Barnie ;-)

 

[oldeagleeye]

NICK the brand name. Just add a bit too it . My brand + on-line or direct for example. They can hardly sue you can they but why you would want a brand that has gone bust is beyond me.


Rob

 

[Deleted member 13430]

If the company is actually liquidated and the brand not sold prior to liquidation then the brand and associated rights will revert to the Crown. If the brand is registered you could then buy the registration off the Crown via http://www.bonavacantia.gov.uk/output/.

The Treasury Solcitor generally will assign the registration for a grand or so and they would send you a pro-forma assignment document. The risk of using without assignment is that in theory the registration could be purchased and then you get sued by the new owner.

If you can do a deal with the liquidator prior to liquidation and dissolution of the company great (like you said put in an offer and see what reaction you get) as you can purchase all the rights dating all the way back to first use/registration of the brand. Then you would need to sort out the assignment of any rights.

 

[mitch@volume]

Would you not want/need the product designs/plans as well Barnie>? As imo in this instance it was the man behinde the company with his products all designed and built in house that made it what it is.

 

[The Legal Mango Team]

Hi,

If you are able to formally purchase the brand then it'd be more credible than just assuming it or starting a brand very similar to it, especially if you were to sell your business further down the line.

Broadly, it would involve establishing exactly what constitutes the brand, which is likely to be made up of various assets and intellectual property rights - (eg trademarks (registered and unregistered) & domain names) and checking that the brand is owned by the entity that it being liquidated (it is not uncommon for business owners to own domain names in their own name as opposed to the trading limited company for example).

Your solicitor would then draw up the sale agreement which would formally transfer the brand to you in return for the agreed payment, giving you certainty and the all important paper trail should you need to evidence ownership of the brand in the future.

To keep legal fees down, you may wish to agree the 'deal' with the liquidator youself, so that the solicitors do not have to get involved in negotiating it.

Hope this helps.

We're not a firm of solicitors and the above is intended as general guidance.

 

[shandp]

I wondered whether the brand you refer to was ever subject to a trade mark registration and whether you have the details for that? If there was a registration it could have already lapsed. It is not uncommon for a party to revitalise an old brand that was previously in the hands of another company before it went bust.​

Another factor to consider is whether you are actually free to use the brand name once you acquire it since another party could have applied to register the same or similar mark in their own name already.

Robin​