downsouth wrote: ↑Wed Apr 18, 2018 5:37 am
If B&M loses the naming right to North Kite & Wind, would and could North LLC appoint and new License holder to North Kite and North Windsurfing.... Surely the names have a value to someone. Bringing a third company into the Mix ...
Which would mean we have new Kite Brand which arguably has the biggest distribution network and all the North Fans will keep NKB.
interesting and scary / corporate games!
It appears it is more like B&M wants to change their name and avoid paying royalties.
North could relicense the name but the new licensee would not inherit the distribution network, the people, the intellectual property etc.
the new licensee would not be NKB as we know it now
just like Best Kiteboarding is not Best Kiteboarding anymore as the people who made that brand have for the most part departed.
Personally I would say that being part of the North umbrella doesn't hold the same cache as it did 20 years ago. And North sails benefits from the windsurfing and kitesurfing license in more ways than the royalties.
In other words, it is likely to North sails advantage to have windsurf and kitesurf equipment made and marketed with the North name, even if their weren't royalties involved.
If North were to license the name to a third party, it will not be the market leader that NKB is and will not have the same amount of royalties paid and would likely cheapen the North name.
Since now that we are dealing with holding companies, common sense may not always apply and so in the end, some law firms will be the real winners.