Unwanted Associations: Protecting Brand Reputation and Goodwill | The Fashion Law

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2021-08-24 05:00:02

Investment in branding – and maintaining the goodwill or reputation associated with that branding – is key to building customer loyalty and market share. From an intellectual property perspective, damage to brand equity and goodwill is traditionally caused by unauthorized third-party infringements, including counterfeiting, passing off, and trademark squatting and cybersquatting. Well-established legal procedures – from UDRP proceedings to infringement lawsuits – and specialist enforcement services help brand owners to identify such unauthorized uses, and to act quickly against them.

But, what about the damage to goodwill that can come from a brand being adopted by unwanted or unsavory consumer groups? From the financial hit that was famously taken by luxury goods group Burberry after it was embraced by “chavs” in the UK back in the early 2000s to Patagonia’s move away from supplying corporate giants with its logo-ed vests, and more recently, Fred Perry’s efforts to distance itself from the far-right Proud Boys in the U.S., there is a real risk of damage to brand equity following association with consumers that do not share the same principles or ethos.

After Fred Perry became aware in September that its black and yellow polo shirt had been adopted by U.S. fascist group Proud Boys as an unofficial uniform, it halted the sales of that garment in the U.S. and Canada. Commenting on the use of the shirts by Proud Boys, and showing clearly its dissatisfaction, Fred Perry released a statement that said, “We have seen that the black/yellow/yellow twin tipped shirt is taking on a new and very different meaning in North America as a result of its association with the Proud Boys. That association is something we must do our best to end.”