One of many artful bottle displays at Bacardi. Copyright Eduard Toerek

Over the past few days I had the honor of meeting with a group of ad agency owners who are Agency Management Institute members to discuss legal issues in their industry. And, since the agency folks luckily chose Puerto Rico as our meeting destination, my husband and I were able to fit in an enjoyable side trip to the Bacardi ® rum factory outside of Old San Juan for a tour.

The tour of the factory was fun, and brief. Our group had a total of three guides, and there was also an informative video shown during the tour. And while there were many interesting things I learned about the Bacardi company history and its products, the exceptional take-away from the tour for me was unexpected: Bacardi is an intellectual property powerhouse.

Of course, you would expect the company to carefully guard its production methods and product formulas. Remarkably, though, every tour guide, as well as the video narration, included some mention or discussion of Bacardi’s trademarks (not its “brand,” not its “reputation,” its trademarks) and their importance to the culture and longevity of the company. The first stop of the tour even featured a display of original trademark registration certificates for the Bacardi marks, proudly housed in glass cases.

Bacardi’s approach to its trademarks contains a few very valuable lessons for brands who want protection and longevity in an increasingly noisy world:

Trademark Protection Requires Stamina

Bacardi is over 150 years old. It has taken a stand to protect its valuable trademarks as distinguishing and value-adding characteristics for the brand from its early days. It even takes great care with the trademarks of the products typically associated with Bacardi. Did you know that the original rum and Coke® combination (not “cola,” not Pepsi®, not RC®) was created using Bacardi® rum during the Cuban revolution and was (and is today still) called the Cuba Libre? I didn’t! I learned this from one of the company’s expert bartender/historians during the tour. Bacardi is not only diligent about mention and protection of its own trademarks, but also of those of other products traditionally associated with its brand. This requires a long-haul approach of watchfulness over a company’s trademark portfolio, from clearance before a brand mark is adopted, to creating a common corporate “vocabulary” about how trademarks are used and communicated, through monitoring the market for potential infringement after a trademark is implemented.

Trademark Protection is a Team Sport

If Bacardi’s tour guides are informed about and conversant in the company’s trademarks, can you imagine the level of emphasis its brand managers, social media community developers and PR staff (not to mention what I have no doubt is a robustly staffed legal contingent) place on them as part of its brand protection strategy? Trademark enforcement takes a team approach, no matter how small the company that owns the mark. Make sure that marketing, communications, human resources, and everyone else relevant in your organization understands the importance and value of your trademarks, as well as the practical steps needed to protect them. At Bacardi, this was a clearly demonstrated example of 2+2 equaling 8. Educate your team, and use them to amplify your trademark protection efforts, regardless of its size.

Trademarks Are Currency for Brands

Bacardi clearly views its trademarks as “money,” as it should. The competition in the spirits and beverage marketplace is surely fierce. As new products and brands emerge, the value of a long-standing, and revered brand, fortified by a diligently guarded trademark portfolio, is gold in its industry. But the impact I observed during the factory tour went beyond any externally perceived value of brand trademarks. Bacardi’s corporate culture seemingly includes a strong sense of internal pride in and reverence for its brands, and its trademarks are clearly a priority to that culture. It’s a great lesson about the mutual impact an organization’s outward-facing brand and internal culture can have on one another, and the role a well-protected trademark plays in creating that value.

Great lessons for brandholders of any size, in any industry.

Do you have a great brand trademark protection story to tell? I would love to hear it, in the Comments section below.

Obviously, Bacardi® and Coke® are the federally registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Was this post helpful? For additional content related to trademark protection matters, see the Trademark Section of the Legal+Creative Blog here. Also, we love subscribers! Sign up to receive new content regularly by subscribing here.