Question

Remember a few months ago when I mentioned that we would really like to open another location for our business? Well, the time has come.

I have found the perfect location, it is in a good location to attract customers and the price is right for a one year lease! The only problem is that the unit we are considering renting is a bit of a mess and needs significant repair from the damage done by the last tenants. The landlord has offered to do some of it, however, we are going to have to replace the flooring entirely, add a reception area including a countertop and desk area and install some heavy-duty shelving in the backroom to hold our supplies.

These renovations would have a significant cost to them and I am a bit concerned about outlaying that amount of capital in this circumstance. Can you please explain if we should be concerned about this and include any recommendations you may have on how to proceed?

Finally, it has become so popular I’m getting a bit concerned that someone is going to try and use our name and marketing slogan. Can you please explain if there is any way we can protect this and provide any details you can talk about the process and timing by property law?

Answer 1

Solution -

It is clear from the extract that you as a tenant are interested in the property and would like to take it for a lease at the quoted price. The problem is with the internal renovation of the property which is required as the previous tenant had left the property in a messy condition. Now all of this cost comes under the fit-out costs and should ideally be negotiated during the lease agreement to be borne by the property owner. As a tenant you have two options here -

1. Negotiate with the property owner to bear the Fit-Out cost or share the costs with you.

2. You can bear the costs through raising a debt and not eroding your capital if the property owner is ready to increase the lease agreement tenure to at least 5 years so that you have achieved the ROI from the investment.

These two options should be held out to ensure that your business capital is safeguarded and the property is as per your requirements.

In order to protect your business name and marketing slogan one can ensure to trademark a slogan and the business name. It can be easily done by visiting the Trademark Registration website. In United States there is the United States Patent and Trademark Office website where one can check for the already registered trademarks. It is to be noted that a duplicate registration or multiple registration of the same slogan or business name cannot be done. Once registering and paying the online fees of $225 to $400. The timeline is usually six months and the tenure of a trademark is 10 years which can be renewed. There are rules such as generic slogans or informational slogans cannot be trademarked. All these designs should be original and should be used in continuity for at least 5 years after the registration. A slogan and a business name should be used for profit and not for just beautification.

With the above registration one can safeguard a business or brand name from getting copied and also safeguard the marketing slogan from getting misused.