Beginning 2021, the LVMH group bought the brand Vendôme from the eponymous small town Vendôme. Cost of the transaction: 10,000 euros. An amount considered ridiculously low by some, but a big coup for Bernard Arnault’s group.
The whole world dreams of Vendôme and its Paris location. For more than 200 years, the most beautiful diamond ornaments, rubies or emeralds have found their ideal case, resounding like the ultimate French luxury symbol. However, it is also the name of a French municipality from Loir-et-Cher with 16,879 inhabitants. It was therefore a great coup for LVMH, who acquired of the Vendôme brand to name potentialy its jewelry products. Back to this transaction with Delphine Brunet-Stoclet, lawyer in Paris and specialized in intellectual property law, who often deals with these kinds of cases.
Could companies acquire the names of all French towns? If so, at what price?
As showcased by the example of the town Vendôme, a great number of territorial authorities protect their name, as trademarks, with the Institut national de la propriété intellectuelle (INPI) (National Institute of Intellectual Property). This protection enables them to stand against their name being trademarked and exploited by a third party, based on counterfeiting. However, local authorities also have the freedom to partially indulge their name rights, which would become a trademark, for a category of services or products. It’s obviously a great opportunity for companies who are constantly looking for new and significant names that are not being used by competitors, in order to launch their own products or services.
How did the transaction with the town Vendôme happen?
The sale of territorial community brands is a privately traded market. Each party negotiates with the other freely, with the partial transfer of the brand for one or several product or service categories at an amount considered as reasonable.
Pour continuer à lire cet article, abonnez-vous maintenant
CHF 10.- par mois / CHF 99.- par année
- Accès illimité à tous les contenus payants
- Des analyses approfondies sur l'industrie du luxe que vous ne trouverez nulle part ailleurs.
- Des études et rapports sur les principaux défis à venir ainsi que leur décryptage.
- Des articles académiques élaborés par des professeurs et des doctorants membres du Swiss Center for Luxury Research, ainsi qu’un certain nombre d’universités à l’étranger.
- Des événements réservés aux membres pour enrichir vos connaissances et votre réseau.
Partager l'article
Continuez votre lecture
“Corporate espionage is what made French luxury relevant”
After investigating for more than ten years, Parisian journalist Laurence Picot publishes: “Les Secrets du Luxe” ( “Secrets of Luxury”). A fascinating publication that goes back to the origins of French luxury, with its many colorful characters, its darkest secrets and its stokes of genius.
Will the French Way of Life resist the pandemic?
In a speech aiming at supporting hospitality professions, President Macron designated Covid-19 as the number one enemy of the famous “French way of life” (Art de vivre), showcased at length during the pandemic… a very fluid concept.
S'inscrire
Newsletter
Soyez prévenu·e des dernières publications et analyses.