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4 May 2015Trademarks

INTA 2015: Hershey says exclusive licensing deals can go ‘badly wrong’

An in-house counsel at confectionary company The Hershey Company has urged brand owners to think carefully before granting an exclusive licence to potential licensees.

Lois Duquette, assistant general counsel at the US-based foods company, was speaking to delegates at the International Trademark Association’s (INTA) annual meeting in San Diego.

Duquette was speaking today (May 4) during a session on trademark licensing, where advice and guidance was given to brand owners on how best to manage a licence.

She said that signing a foreign licensing agreement could make life easier and help “grow” a product in new countries “in a way a brand couldn’t do itself”, but added that brands should still think carefully before granting an exclusive licence.

“It may seem like a great way to market your product but when it can go wrong, it can go wrong badly,” she told a packed meeting hall on the third day of the conference.

“What if a brand owner can’t get anything out of the licence or if they are not growing the business in the way that you expected? There should be a minimum sales requirement set, as it can stunt growth as much as accelerate it.

“If you don’t remember anything else from this session, please remember that,” she urged attendees.

Duquette then asked delegates to consider what a licensor should expect from a licensee.

“Ideally consumers should not even know that the product in question is produced by a licensee. At Hershey, quality is of the most importance, and we want our standards adhered to and to ensure consumers don’t know that something may be produced by a licensee.”

The INTA annual conference runs from May 2 to 6.

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