Intellectual Property Law

The Gavel Drops: Results From the "Brand Name Auction"

By Michael Atkins

The New York Times reported the “Brand Name Auction” raised a bunch of money — over $100k in all. (STL background post here.)

SHEARSON garnered the highest bid at $45,000, followed by MEISTER BRAU at $32,500 and HANDI-WRAP at $30,000.

I’m still not entirely sure what this money bought.

“You're paying for a license for an interim period till the trademark issues,” NYT quoted one observer.

The Trademark Blog wonders if that means anything for marks that have never been used (after being abandoned) and the intent-to-use applications were signed when the applicants never had a bona fide intent to put the marks to actual use.

Right, the whole swearing-under-oath part of the application.

Notwithstanding that potential hitch, the auction apparently garnered public interest. The auction organizer told the World Trademark Review Blog his firm had 20,000 inquires from interested parties.

Apparently 45% of the inquiries came from private-label manufacturers; 45% came from entities that represent other brand manufacturers; and 10% from investors hoping to license the mark and from domain name owners seeking to marry their domain names with federal trademark registrations.

The organizer, a private investment firm, said the so-called first-ever trademark auction won’t be its last.

“We’ve made a decision to be in this space,” its CEO told the World Trademark Review a week before the auction was held. “Whatever happens at the auction will not deter us from owning this space.”

Full post as published by Seattle Trademark Lawyer on December 14, 2010 (boomark / email).