Met today with an IP attorney who told the horror story of a client firm which had paid $50,000 for a rebranding engagement, having outgrown their original name. The agency (which he discreetly did not name) labored for months, only to eventually recommend using their initials. Appalling.

On top of that, the agency never did a legal search for the availability of, well, anything. The initials (naturally) were not trademarkable. Oy.

For all the whining from the peanut gallery about controversial new identities (for example) at least that’s a matter of taste and strategy. You may like or hate the American Airlines work, or WeightWatchers or Gap (I’m one like, one hate, and one meh? for those three), but tastes differ.

But not getting legal clearance for a new name? Off with their heads.