Wilko, a staple of the British High Street for over 90 years, has gone into administration.
The latest is a long line of British brands to fall into the hands of the administrators, the question we are being asked is what happens to the brand?
Many reports on the administration have detailed the impact on the physical assets of the business and the unfortunate impact of the staff of Wilko but the intellectual property protection the business held is much less considered.
When administrators are appointed to a company, all assets are then transferred in respect of ownership to the administrators to use in any way they can to save the business as a whole.
It has been reported that B and M, a similar retailer to Wilko, has purchased 51 of Wilko’s shops in a deal valued at £13 million but interestedly, they have not purchased any of the intellectual property rights. B and M will rebrand these shops as their own branches and therefore did not want to carry on the Wilko brand name.
The IP rights including the registered trade marks for the name, logo and any other brand identifiers, remain with the administrators.
If there is any further deals made for purchase of company assets, which are on the cards, these could include the purchase of the brand, allowing for the name to continue. This is demonstrates by previous brands fall then rise, such as HMV.
If you would like any advice on how to protect your brand, then please get in touch with the team today.
