The Kardashian sisters got a pretrial court order barring Haven Beauty from using their names and trademarks—effectively opening the door for new licensees to step in, since the Kardashians want to ultimately terminate their licensing agreement…
LICENSING AGREEMENTS
Pitfalls & Protections in Licensing Agreements
August 5, 2016
Before signing any licensing agreement, a licensee has to ensure they are completely covered. Here are the basic steps every manufacturer should take before putting pen to paper. In reviewing licensing agreements you must know…
CELEBRITY LICENSING
Patrick Kane & the Need for “Morals Clauses” in Celebrity Licenses
August 14, 2015
In June, EA Sports tabbed Chicago Blackhawk Patrick Kane for the cover of its upcoming (Sept. 15) ES Sports NHL 16 game. It seemed the perfect choice. Kane, a 3-time Stanley Cup winner, is handsome, charismatic and, somewhat rare for a hockey star, American. But Kane is now under police investigation for alleged rape in his hometown of Hamburg, NY. So, EA has taken Kane off the cover…
Legal Trap to Avoid: Control Licensee Quality or Risk Losing Your Trademark
May 18, 2015
A winery’s only quality control is the occasional sip and knowing that the licensee’s winemaker has a “world class reputation” (Barcamerica Int’l USA Trust v. Tyfield Importers, (2002)); A bridal franchise collects no royalties and exerts no control over how licensees run their shops (Eva’s Bridal Ltd. v. Halanick Enterprises Inc., (2011)); An internet network trusts its licensees to police themselves and follow informal guidelines rather than written contractual quality standards (Freecycle Sunnyvalley v. The Freecycle Network, (2010)). These are just three real-life examples of licensors who lost their trademark because they didn’t exercise adequate quality control over their licensees. Here’s a look at the risk of “naked licensing” and what both licensors and licensees should do to manage it. Naked Licensing Law, 101 Although you can let the lawyers… . . . read more