Trademark licensing allows one company to use another company’s trademark, such as a doll maker creating a doll based on a popular cartoon character. The trademark owner maintains the rights to the name and character likeness and can license it to other companies. Trademark licensing began in the late 19th century and has become increasingly popular, with some referring to it as “brandalism.”
Trademark licensing is a business practice in which one company purchases the license or right to use another company’s trademark. A doll maker, for example, may purchase the rights to create a doll based on a popular cartoon character. The trademark itself, including the rights to the name and character likeness, is maintained by the company offering the license. In fact, such a company is free to license other items based on the same character, and sometimes even other dolls, if allowed by the brand licensing agreement.
A trademark indicates legal ownership of a name, product or concept, in much the same way that a copyright indicates legal ownership of a creative work. The Walt Disney Company, for example, has a trademark under the name “Disney.” Other companies may not use the name for their own products unless they have entered into a trademark licensing agreement with the entertainment giant. Disney strictly protects its trademark, as it is able to make millions from such trademark licensing. The appearance of a popular trademark can ensure the sale of a licensed item, even if the manufacturer has no other connection to the trademark holder.
Trademark licensing began in the late 19th century, when the value of such licensing was first realized by companies looking to increase profitability. Instead of investing the money to create a nationally recognized identity, companies could license the brands of other companies that already had such national recognition. Licensing companies, in turn, have benefited from increased exposure of their brands. Additionally, they could grow their product lines without investing in expensive manufacturing concerns, such as doll-making facilities.
Trademark licensing has become increasingly popular in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Companies sometimes license their popular brands to hundreds or even thousands of other companies, as happened with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Simpsons cartoons. Characters from Charles Schulz’s Peanuts cartoons and Marvel and DC Comics superheroes have also been licensed for multiple brands, as have many Disney characters.
In the last decade of the 20th century, large corporations began funding civic arenas and sports stadiums in exchange for commercial brand licenses in the name of the venue. Growing corporate presence in previously public areas was not without controversy. Such trademark licensing has been referred to by some as “brandalism,” a play on the word “vandalism.”
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
