Social Media, Licensing, and Branding

So much of a social media influencer’s power relies on their intellectual property and how they use it. We have extensive experience working with influencers to secure their brands and pursue copyright registration for their content.

An influencer’s trademark allows them to identify any products or brand extensions in the marketplace as theirs, which builds brand reputation and credibility. Copyright protection allows an influencer to retain the exclusive right to use the original content they produce, including social media posts, original memes, photographs, audio recordings, and videos. Our lawyers are prepared to work by your side to determine the best means of protecting your brand assets and defend against potential infringers.

Licensing agreements grant one party — such as a publishing company, a film or television production company, or a consumer goods company — a license to use another party’s intellectual property within an original work they are creating. This may involve intellectual property covered by either copyright or trademark. A licensing agreement will dictate how the intellectual property may be used and the compensation to which the intellectual property owner will be entitled. A Beverly Hills licensing lawyer can strategize terms that help ensure their client comes out on top.

Influencer marketing agreements provide the opportunity for a social media influencer to generate revenue through partnerships across the supply chain and across geographies. These contracts usually involve many players and often include:

• Stipulations for how an influencer’s logo and likeness can be included on products
• Third-party commissions and fees for selling the branded merchandise
• How the influencer and the suppliers will allocate profits
• Whether the influencer will have final approval over merchandise and promotional materials
• Whether the influencer is required to make a specified number of live online or in-person appearances
• The targeted geography
• The length of the agreement’s term

In a brand partnership or joint venture, the parties involved generally seek commercial synergy to promote their market visibility and reach untapped audiences. These allow one brand’s success to benefit the other, and vice versa. In the case of a joint venture, it allows for a new brand identity to emerge, distinct from that of the participating parties.

Under these agreements, the parties often share expenses, profits, and required labor. Examples of common brand partnerships include pairing:

• Two brands that create complementary products, such as a furniture brand and a mattress brand
• A celebrity brand with a clothing label
• Two brands with similar values, such as in a charitable initiative
• A high-end brand and a lower-end brand within the same sector, such as a couture designer and a big-box clothing retailer
• A food or beverage brand with a cosmetics or fragrance brand, such as for flavored lip gloss or scented body spray

The collaboration agreement allows the brands to delineate each party’s responsibilities under the arrangement, each party’s rights to compensation, who retains copyright in the collateral produced, licensing terms, approval rights, how the collaboration will be branded, and the length of the partnership.

Through a joint venture, the two brands contractually agree on how to pursue a common business enterprise, allowing both companies to share in the resulting profits, expenses, intellectual property, and other resources. To formalize a joint venture, a branding lawyer Los Angeles relies on can draft and negotiate a memorandum of understanding and letter of intent on their client’s behalf for all parties to sign.

Endorsement deals generally arise when an influencer or other well-known individual publicly recommends or advocates on behalf of a brand based on their personal behalf. For an endorsement to be a good fit between an individual and a brand, the individual should truly believe in the brand’s quality, mission, and values. Sponsorships, on the other hand, involve a brand’s investment in an event, project, or other initiative that will help it reach its target audience.

Endorsement and sponsorship agreements usually outline:

• How both parties’ likeness may be used
• For what length of time the likeness can be used
• Which party will have authority over final approvals
• The parties’ obligations with regard to promotion and marketing
• Any required appearances
• Actions by either party that would constitute breach of contract.