Intellectual Property Magazine
Assigning goodwill
Norton Rose Fulbright’s Abida Chaudri and AliceRouth discuss cases that examine who owns the goodwill when assigningtrademarks
Abida Chaudri and Alice Routh - Norton Rose Fulbright
Goodwill has long been understood as “the attractive forcethat brings in custom” and assignments of trademarks invariably
include thegoodwill attached to the business in which they are used. However, in arecent invalidity action involving the well-known
Australian chef ScottHallsworth, it was argued that assignments of the KUROBUTA trademark were“assignments in gross” which
did not transfer the goodwill residing in thechain of Kurobuta restaurants.