Intellectual property plays a critical role in the valuation process. Trademarks are valuable assets – but placing a value on these assets can be a challenging experience, making the use of qualified experts an essential part of the process. Trademarks or brand names do not travel in a vacuum. Rather, a trademark is usually part of a larger group of intangibles that travel together, known as the brand bundle.
Thus, we typically start a trademark valuation by identifying any other intangible assets that may be connected with that particular trademark, such as trade dress and other marketing-related intangibles. Oftentimes, the list of related intangibles can be extensive.
For more information about typical asset bundles, please see the attached book excerpt. It is critical to understand that valuation of intellectual property is context specific, and trademarks are most affected by the context in which they are valued. For example, in the context of a bankruptcy, a trademark’s value can drop by 90% or 95%. On the other hand, if the trademark is connected with a very successful brand and that brand is about to be acquired, then the value of the trademark can go up quite substantially. Context, as well as the time frame in which a trademark is being valued, are critical components of the process and another key test for value. At CONSOR, we take all of these factors into account in order to provide an accurate analysis of trademark value.