No Malone? Naming Rights And Eponymous Brands

What's in a name? Quite a lot, as it turns out. British perfumer Jo Malone, founder of the eponymous fragrance brand, was recently subject of a legal claim by cosmetics giant The Estée Lauder Companies ('Estée Lauder') in the courts of England in what may prove to be the latest cautionary tale for creatives who have built—or are building—a brand around their own name and identity. While building a brand based on your own name is a common feature of many creative industries, the legal consequences of that decision can be far‑reaching. The name of a retail business is often both its most valuable asset and can sometimes be its most legally challenging, particularly where relationships start to unravel. And, in this case, the Jo Malone dispute brings back into sharp focus a more fundamental question: what happens when something so personal as a name becomes a key business asset?