I have one company (sole proprietorship) with 6 brands. Is an umbrella a good idea?

Good, savvy question. Many companies own a number of differently-branded products and product lines. The brands are sometimes owned directly by the company and sometimes they're owned by a wholly-owned subsidiary. For example, Yum! Brands, Inc. owns A&W Restaurants, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, and Long John Silver’s. Berkshire Hathaway owns Dairy Queen, See’s Candy, GEICO, Benjamin Moore, Fruit of the Loom and The Pampered Chef. Coca-Cola Inc. owns Energy Brands Inc. which does business as Glaceau which sells the branded drink Vitaminwater. Macy’s Inc. owns Bloomingdales. Macy’s also sells its “private brands” within its stores: I.N.C, Alfani, Style&co., Epic Threads, Hotel Collection and American Rag. Henkel, Inc. owns Dial soap, Purex laundry detergents, Right Guard, and göt2b hair styling products. TJX Cos owns T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods. The Gap owns Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Piperlime. Q1: " ... Whats the best/easiest way to tie all [my] brands into one company ...?" R1: That's a complicated question. At the end of the day your goal is not to own a branded product line but to make a profit by selling the branded product AND to position that product line to be purchased by a larger, or more financially able, company [you always have to think ahead about your "exit" from doing business]. So if one of your product lines is selling like gangbusters it may make sense to create a company solely to own that brand and its operations. If none of your differently-branded product lines have outstanding sales then it may make sense for your existing company to own all the brands [which means all the trademarks and other assets required to sell the variously branded-products]. It also may make sense for you to set up an "intellectual property holding company" to own the trademarks used to brand your various products and to license back to your existing company the right to use those marks. This is how many large companies [like Google] get out from under having to paying taxes to the federal govt -- their operating company pays billions in trademark royalties to their related IP Holding company outside the US [that money not being taxed in the US]. Q1: "I don't currently have a cpa or lawyer." R1: You're not alone. It's a very, very unfortunate fact of life that most small businesses do not seek legal assistance before opening their doors. But every business that does business does so within a complicated legal labyrinth. That labyrinth is like a Mario Brothers game: the businessperson can expertly jump up and capture legal Gold Coins but he can also fall headlong into endless pits and become ensnared in thorny hedges with no way out. Unlike the game, however, in the real world it is very expensive to "reset" after such a failure. In short, you need to bring on board a business attorney licensed to practice in your state. Together you need to strategize -- and that will include thinking through what's the best corporate structure to satisfy your business goals. That attorney will bring in an intellectual property attorney when the time comes to (1) clear the rights to your existing brands [you're way late doing that chore], (2) protect your brands through their proper use in commerce and via registration, (3) create marketplace synergy using your brands in tandem [ever wonder why a mix of A&W, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, and Long John Silver’s are in the same strip mall?], (4) set up an ecommerce site to sell your products, (5) etc., etc. etc. As for hiring a CPA, that's a no brainer. You need one. Soon. In addition to doing your own homework on how to run a successful small business [ see http://goo.gl/ILWxY ] you should seek advice from business groups in your area [check with your local chamber of commerce] and from SCORE [ http://score.org ] . Good luck.

You really need both a lawyer and a CPA, and probably a marketing company as well. You could use a single main brand that you combine with sub-brands, sort of like how car companies have different models. Or you could just continue using different brands with different products. You can have different legal entities owning different businesses, to separate out liability. The company names might or might not be used as brands, it is your decision. If the company names are to be used as brands, you should perform clearance searches to make sure the brands you select will not be infringing anyone else's marks. There are tax issues that could come into play if, for example, you license out your trademarks. Some states or countries have lower taxes than others for license income.

I agree with my colleagues. There are a lot of variables and you need to discuss all of them with a business lawyer in Georgia to determine what is the best course. If you would like to speak to me further about this, you can reach me at (770) 887-3162 or visit my firm's business law website at www.businesslawyerinatlanta.com. You can also search for business attorneys through . Good luck. Theodore Spaulding, Esq. Boling Rice LLC

The above responses are accurate in one sense. This is a question for which a single answer is not possible without further review. In many instances an umbrella brand can help to further remove your product brands from becoming "generic" and unprotectable. I think it is always a good idea and we advise clients to take this strategy whenever financially possible. We focus our practice only on matters of intellectual property, including trademark law. Feel free to contact me though my page at your convenience.