Selling your brand: 6 practical tips

There are all sorts of reasons to sell your brand: transfer of a branch of activity, of a complete company, of an unused brand... But not all brands can be sold. In any case, not all brands will find a buyer. Here are a few tips to optimize your chances of selling your brand.

No. 1: Filing a "neutral" mark

The chances of resale are determined as soon as the trademark is registered. Indeed, the choice of the trademark as such, and of the form of the application, will have a fundamental impact on the future.

The choice of brand name

The ideal is to choose a completely arbitrary mark, which will be more easily sold because it can be detached from its owner. Conversely, if you choose to register your family name as a trademark, you impose a double handicap on yourself. First of all, the trademark will probably always be linked to you in the minds of consumers, even once it has been assigned. Therefore, there will probably be fewer potential buyers. Furthermore, if you sell it, you "dispossess" yourself of your family name, which may be detrimental to you personally. A trademark consisting of your family name should therefore be avoided at all costs. Especially if you wish to resell it later on. Finally, choosing a name that is too descriptive of your field of activity may also reduce your chances of selling your trademark. It will not have a strong image with the public. There are exceptions, such as ventesprivées.com. However, the owners of these well-known brands have spent a lot of money on communication.

The choice of the form of the deposit

A trademark can be registered in verbal, semi-figurative or figurative form (see our guide on this subject). This is at the discretion of the depositor. However, it must be borne in mind that it must always be used in the form of the deposit, or in a very slightly modified form. However, if the trademark is registered with a logo (semi-figurative or figurative trademark), the potential buyer will be obliged to use this logo: if he wishes to use another one, then the purchase of the trademark will not be of interest to him. Indeed, old trademarks often have somewhat outdated logos. It is quite rare to keep the same logo for more than 10 years. We therefore strongly advise you to file a word trademark (i.e. consisting of letters and/or numbers without any graphic elements). This is the best strategic choice to sell your trademark to a holder who will be able to use it in the graphic form of his choice.  

No. 2: Properly drafting the list of goods and services covered by the mark

A trademark is registered for specific products and/or services. It can only be sold to buyers who are interested in the name AND in the activity protected by the name. As such, it is important to draft a wording (list of goods and services) that is exploitable by a potential buyer. However, the wording can be freely worded, while respecting the Nice Classificationand a certain editorial method. A wording that is too precise will be of less interest to buyers because the protected field of activity will be too restricted. For example, a trademark registered in class 25 only for swimwear, when this class includes all types of clothing. Conversely, a wording that is too vague may worry a potential buyer. He may not be able to find his business in it, and may not be sure of being protected. For example, a trademark is registered in class 35 for business organization consulting services. The potential acquirer is specialized in marketing. Does marketing fall into this general category? Nothing is less certain... The wording must therefore be broad enough to maximize the chances of resale. But it must also be sufficiently narrow to limit the risk of third-party action. Indeed, the broader the wording, the higher the chances of litigation.  

No. 3: Conducting pre-filing searches with a view to selling one's mark later on

Before registering your trademark, it is always preferable to conduct background checks. This allows you to be sure of the legal environment of your project and to estimate the risks of conflict. However, one of the major interests of buying a trademark is notably the purchase of its seniority. The older a trademark is, the less likely it is to be attacked by a holder of prior rights. Providing the search report of the time highlighting the absence of a real risk of conflict increases the value of the trademark.  

No. 4: Be up to date with registrations

All kinds of events can take place during the life of the brand. For example, a change of address or name of the owner, an assignment, a licence, a pledge... All these changes must be subject to a compulsory registration.an entry in the National Trademark Register in order to be enforceable against third parties. However, when the trademark is transferred, it is necessary to be up to date with the previous registrations, in order to respect what is called the "chain of rights". If, for example, the trademark had been the subject of a previous assignment that had not been recorded, the purchaser will have to make two recordings (the previous assignment and the current assignment), which will double the costs. Similarly, if a license has been granted and the contract has expired, it must be regularized by recording the cancellation of the license. In short, the Trademark Register contains the "CV" of each trademark, which must be kept up to date at all times so that buyers can know the exact status of the right they wish to purchase.  

No. 5: Conduct surveillance to better sell your trademark

Monitor a brand after its filing allows to avoid that later trademarks come to "parasitize" the protection. Indeed, since the INPI does not check the availability of the trademarks submitted to it, anyone can file a trademark infringing a prior right. It is up to the owner to actively monitor the situation in order to defend himself in due time (in particular during the opposition period). However, a trademark is considered diluted if it is drowned in a mass of identical or similar later trademarks. This happens when the owner has allowed these marks to become established without reacting. The trademark will have less value than a trademark that is regularly defended by its owner in order to protect his monopoly.

No. 6: Selling your brand with the corresponding domain names

It is not uncommon today for a person to give up on a brand project because the domain name (often .com) is not available. Indeed, visibility on the Internet has become a fundamental component of commercial development. Therefore, offering the trademark and the domain name for sale together will reassure a potential buyer. It will also increase the value of the lot. We therefore recommend that you proceed with the reservation of the domain name corresponding to your trademark in the wake of the registration, with a specialized registrar. If you wish to register a secure and long term trademark, do not hesitate to contact our lawyers !