It has just surveyed trade mark teams from 58 brand owners around the world. The firm found that 43 of the managers cited a lack of cooperation or understanding from the business units they were advising as one of the top three issues they faced in managing their trade mark teams.
The problem is even greater in companies from Asia, Hogan Lovells found, with more trade mark managers describing this issue as the biggest they face.
Although the solution might be obvious – spend more time training business unit colleagues –financial barriers stand in the way. Of the trade mark managers surveyed, 58% cited budget constraints that prevent them from hiring more staff as one of the top three issues they face, while almost half mentioned insufficient budget to carry out the work they wanted to do.
So what can in-house trade mark managers do? Lloyd Parker of Hogan Lovells suggests that the firm’s survey might help them to lobby for more budget to pay for a bigger team. Increasing understanding of the importance of trade marks to a company’s bottom line has to be good for companies – and for the law firms that advise them.