by Tamera H. Bennett
posted February 12, 2009
Bob Marley’s estate inked a merchandising agreement with private equity group Hilco Consumer Capital for the rights to license not only the reggae singer’s name & likeness, but also other branded products under the Tuff Gong, One Love, Three Little Birds, Catch A Fire and Relics of Antiquity names.
Reports state an influx of $20 million to the House of Marley, LLC for Hilco to acquire a 50% interest in the House of Marley. “House of Marley would earn a royalty of 5% to 10% on sales of licensed products, according to a person familiar with the matter.”
One of the first missions after the acquisition is to crack down on the estimated $600 million lost to counterfeiters each year.
In addition to Marley’s name and likeness rights, what trademarks will be used? Filed with the USPTO, there are currently 2 active registrations and 17 pending applications listing Fifty-Six Hope Road Music Limited as the owner/applicant. The goods and services range from coffee to clothing.
There are also pending trademark applications in the applicant names of Tuff Gong Clothing, LLC and TG CLOTHING, LP.
In addition to the trademark rights, the family plans to be more aggressive in licensing the sound recordings and songs written by Bob Marley.
February 12th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Thanks for this Tamera,
This is another illustration of the trend among artists and artists’ estates toward maximizing the value of their assets, and clamping down on unauthorized users of names, likenesses, logos, and other intellectual property.
Thanks for a good summary.
February 13th, 2009 at 8:40 am
[...] Tamera H. Bennett details that the estate of Bob Marley has entered into a merchandising agreement with Hilco Consumer Capital, a private equity group, for the rights to license Marley’s name & likeness, and a series of branded products. [...]
February 15th, 2009 at 11:49 pm
[...] Dallas IP lawyer Tamera Bennett (Current Trends in Copyright, Trademark, and Entertainment Law) tells us that Bob Marley’s estate inked a merchandising agreement with private equity group Hilco Consumer [...]
February 16th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
[...] également les billets publiés par Name Wire et le blog du cabinet Bennett. * [...]