The Four Seasons Brand: The IP Questions Raised With Sale of the IP

As technology and the Internet continues to dominate today’s interconnected world, the closure of the iconic Four Seasons brand restaurant raises new issues in the legal world of intellectual property.  Because the closure of the Four Seasons Restaurant has now led to the associated sale of its trademark and social media accounts, it raises new issues about the role that social media accounts and brand-related property will play in similar future sales.

The Four Seasons Brand Will Live On

In June 2019, the famous Four Seasons Restaurant closed due to waning sales and an inability to adapt to more modern trends that dictate today’s food world.  Despite its closure, however, the Four Seasons brand name still invokes images of well-to-do patrons and high-end cuisine.  As such, it seems fitting that the owners of the Four Seasons brand now look to sell intellectual property and social media accounts connected to the restaurant.

The company Hilco Steambank has been tasked with the sale of the Four Seasons trademark, its logo, domain name, copyrights to its two cookbooks, as well as its associated social media accounts.  Interestingly, Hilco Steambank is also authorized to sell the Four Seasons-owned trademark, SPA CUISINE.  

While Hilco Steambank says that it is in talks with many interested parties, it seems almost paradoxical that the associated intellectual property can be sold for significant value when the restaurant itself, and arguably its brand, failed to be financially successful in its own right.  In other words, it would seem unlikely that the associated intellectual property could be used to rebrand other restaurants or restaurant groups when the Four Seasons brand itself failed to attract new investors or enough patrons to sustain itself 

The Sale of Four Seasons Brand Raises IP Questions

Similarly, it also raises new questions in intellectual property law due to the sale of its social media accounts.  Currently, the Four Seasons restaurant’s Instagram account has approximately one million followers while its Twitter account has almost 275,000 followers.  Both of these accounts are verified accounts, which means that they have submitted proof that these accounts belong to the actual Four Seasons brand restaurant.  While verified accounts are marked by a blue checkmark to indicate to the general public that these accounts do belong to the proper owner that they purport to be, it is undeniable that these blue checkmarks have also come to signify and convey a certain amount of status to the owners of the accounts in the social media world.  As such, it would be interesting to see the valuation of these accounts, especially in comparison to the valuation of the trademarks and copyrights associated with the Four Seasons brand.

Moreover, once these accounts are sold, new questions arise in this Internet-dominated world.  For example, should there be a change in the verified status of these accounts, as they no longer represent the same restaurant that the followers originally intended to follow?  Likewise, should there be a requirement that the accounts notify the followers of the change in ownership?  While there is no law that requires such a change, would the change affect whether the followers would continue to follow these accounts?  And as such, if there were such a change that affected follower status, then how would this change affect the valuation of the Four Seasons brand social media accounts?  While the United States does not include moral rights and such views in its intellectual property law, many other countries, including many in the European Union, do recognize moral rights, and as such, this could lead to differing requirements across the globe.

With the Four Seasons Brand Restaurant Closed, Questions Arise With the Sale of the IP

The owners of the IP rights are intent on selling the intellectual property and social media accounts related to the Four Seasons restaurant, raising the issues of:

• whether there should be notice about the new owners of the account;

• whether the United States and other countries will differ over such notice due to moral rights;

• whether the change will significantly impact the number of followers of the social media accounts; and

• whether such notice, if given, would impact the monetary valuation of the social media accounts during sales.

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