News for the Hospitality Executive |
Hotel Lawyer on the Importance of Brands - Intellectual Property Rights
By
Jim
Butler
and the Global Hospitality Group®,
Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com August 17, 2011 Hotel
Lawyer with what it all means: Family Suites Resorts v. Viacom
International
d/b/a MTV Networks -- a suit over branding I was
recently interviewed by Jason Freed of HotelNewsNow (a division of
Smith Travel
Research) about three high profile lawsuits in the hospitality
industry. In the
third and final lawsuit we discussed, Family Suites Resorts v. Viacom
International d/b/a MTV Networks, we discussed the Family Suites
lawsuit.
Family Suites operates a Nickelodeon-themed hotel, and claims its
licensing
rights were breached when Viacom entered into an agreement with
Marriott to
franchise the Nickelodeon brand. According
to the complaint, Family Suites Resorts spent $168 million on its
Nickelodeon-themed property -- money it would not have spent if guests
could
get the Nickelodeon hotel experience elsewhere. So what happened? An
industry built on intellectual property. As
Jason quotes me as saying in the article: "This is an industry that
relies
on intellectual property--that's what brands are." See, The
5 questions every owner should ask before selecting a hotel brand. Hotel
owners spend considerable time and resources selecting the best brand
to
operate their hotels. And owners and operators can spend considerable
time and
resources entering into licensing agreements that make their brand
unique. See, Hospitality
Lawyer on hotel brands -- How far will the pendulum swing? What's in a
name?
Just ask Starwood, Hilton . . . Coca-Cola or Procter & Gamble. It is
the license agreement, in this case, that makes the Family Suites
Resorts hotel
unique. For a
hotel owner or operator, locking down essential agreements like the
hotel
management agreement, the franchise agreement, and licensing agreement
are
critical to the success of a hotel. It takes experience and expertise
to
structure good agreements and often hotels don't know their agreements
are
flawed until something goes wrong. (Then it is too late!) It is
likely that the license agreement between Family Suites Resorts and
Viacom will
spell out exactly how exclusive the Nickelodeon license is. Hotel
owners and
operators will be very interested to see how this case is resolved, as
intellectual property rights, which should be spelled out in the
licensing
agreement are critical to profitability. Click
here to read my commentary on M
Waikiki's Edition litigation against Marriott and Ian Schrager. Click
here to read my commentary on Hotel
Lawyer on the fiduciary, contractual and agency duties of hotel brokers
- Host
Hotels & Resorts LP v. Molinaro Koger litigation. ________________________ ________________________ Jim Butler is a founding partner of JMBM, and Chairman of its Global Hospitality Group® and Chinese Investment Group™. Jim is one of the top hospitality attorneys in the world. GOOGLE "hotel lawyer" and you will see why. Jim and his team are more than "just" great hotel lawyers. They are also hospitality consultants and business advisors. They are deal makers. They can help find the right operator or capital provider. They know who to call and how to reach them. JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® The hotel lawyers in the Global Hospitality Group® of Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell (JMBM) comprise the premier hospitality practice in a full-service law firm and are the authors of the Hotel Law Blog. We represent hotel owners, developers, investors and lenders and have helped our clients find business and legal solutions for more than $60 billion of hotel transactions, involving more than 1,000 properties worldwide. For more information about the Global Hospitality Group®, go to www.HotelLawBlog.com. For more information about full range of legal services provided by JMBM, go to www.JMBM.com. |
Contact:
Jim Butler
|