Defuncty old logo

But what happens if, while walking past BT headquarters, you notice the redundant trademark lying in a skip or, perhaps, bundled up in a big plastic and left on the pavement for the bin men?

Are you entitled to scavenge the unwanted trademark, take it home and start using it - in the same way as you might make use of an abandoned filing cabinet or wonky swivel chair?

The short answer to this question is: "No".

Old brands don't die... they merely fade away

John Noble, British Brands Group

John Noble of the British Brands Group explains that most disused brand names remain the property of the original owner.

BT could sell the name - which would be the multi-million, intellectual property equivalent of getting a few quid back on an unwanted filing cabinet by selling it to one of those "reconditioned office equipment" (i.e: junk) shops.

But this is unlikely.

The best-known case of a company selling off a redundant and apparently defunct brand for scrap (as opposed to selling a successful one for huge profits) is that of Plymouth Gin - sold by Allied Domecq to John Murphy of InterBrand.

From the supermarket of ideas...

Lots of people laughed at Murphy when he walked away from the car-boot sale after paying good money for a rusty antique.

But within a year he had turned it into a stunning success - much to the embarrassment of Allied Domecq.

"A company will only sell off an old brand," says Noble, "if they think it does not pose a commercial threat in the hands of a rival.

"If I was in BT's shoes I wouldn't want another company using the Cellnet trademark and getting the value of the investment - basically giving away all that money."

... to the landfill of commerce

Graham Singleton of the branding experts The Value Engineers agrees.

"They would be mad not to protect a brand name like Cellnet. I cannot believe that they would leave themselves open to a competitor coming along and trading on the brand's reputation."

Most companies are therefore likely to dump their unwanted trademark garbage on the Patent Office's list of "inactive" trademarks - very much the commercial world's equivalent of a local authority waste-compacting and landfill site.

Trademarks are registered for ten years, after which they must be renewed. If they are not renewed the trademark lapses and anyone can use it.

Cluttered up

But, explains copyright expert Alan Poulter of InterBrand, it takes little effort to keep renewing a trademark: "we are talking about a few hundred pounds here to protect in some cases investments of many millions."

In theory a company could hang on to a trademark forever. But if the mark is not used for five years a rival has the right to complaint and demand that the name be made available.

Gone but not forgotten

Marathon Opal Fruits Jif Windscale Mercury BSB

"The idea is to stop the register of trademarks at the Patent Office getting cluttered up," explains Poulter.

Another issue is the owner's right to the value of the "goodwill in the name".

"If a competitor uses the name the owner can sue for 'passing off' - a common law action, the principle being that somebody else is benefiting from the reputation and investment made by your company.

Rotten

"If somebody tried to use the Cellnet name BT as the owner would be able sue for breach of trademark, but they would almost certainly be able to sue for passing-off as well."

But these made a comeback...

CocoPops VW Beetle

In the meantime if you are rummaging around the landfill of commercial concepts (located next door to your local Supermarket of Ideas) you will find such tempting cast-offs as Talbot Cars, Rawlings Lemonade, Banjo chocolate bars and Faithful pet food.

Leave them where they are. You can't touch them. They remain the property of their original owners - until they have been forgotten by everyone and rotted away to nothing.