Exclusive, Sublicensable Rights to Iconic Names in Fashion, Cosmetics and Personal Care Fields

Bids are Due February 1, 2022

Hilco Streambank is marketing for sale certain rights of licensee, Johnson Publishing Company, under an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license to numerous trademarks and domain names containing “Ebony” and “Ebone” for commercial use in the fields of fashion, cosmetics, and personal care.

The iconic brand Ebony owes its provenance to Johnson Publishing Company, founded in 1942 by the late Eunice W. Johnson and John H. Johnson. Once the largest Black-owned publishing firm in the United States, Johnson Publishing enjoyed immense success with the Ebony brand, utilizing it to speak to an underserved Black American middle-class for the first meaningful time in modern American history.

The license agreement exclusively authorizes the licensee to utilize numerous trademarks and  certain domain names that include the words “Ebony” or “Ebone” in connection with the manufacture, display, advertising, promotion, labeling, sale, marketing, and distribution of products and services (including e-commerce) in the fields of fashion, cosmetics and personal care. The license is worldwide, royalty-free and sublicensable in accordance with the terms of the license agreement.  

“This offering comes on the heels of two sales in which Hilco Streambank successfully marketed for sale assets on behalf of the Johnson Publishing Company estate and its chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee, Miriam R. Stein,” remarked Hilco Streambank Chief Executive Officer Gabe Fried. “This included the sale of a historic photography and media archive for $30 million to a consortium of foundations comprised of The J. Paul Getty Trust, The Ford Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, as well as the sale of the Fashion Fair beauty brand which has now returned to market.”

Fried noted that, “as with the previous sales from this estate, the opportunity is highly unique and provides buyers numerous avenues to offer a storied brand to consumers via a license with compelling economic terms.”

Bids are due on February 1, 2022 at 1:00 pm Eastern Time / 12:00 noon Central Time, and an auction will be held on February 3, 2022 at 12:00 noon Eastern Time / 11:00 a.m. Central Time.

Interested parties should CLICK HERE or contact Hilco Streambank directly using the contact information provided below.  The sale is being conducted by Miriam R. Stein, in her capacity as chapter 7 trustee of the bankruptcy estate of J Publication Company, formerly known as Johnson Publishing Company, LLC, and is subject to bankruptcy court approval. 

About Hilco Streambank: Hilco Streambank is a market leading advisory firm specializing in intellectual property disposition and valuation. Having completed numerous transactions including sales in publicly reported transactions, private transactions, and online sales through IPv4.Global, Hilco Streambank has established itself as the premier intermediary in the consumer brand, internet and telecom communities. Hilco Streambank is part of Northbrook, Illinois based Hilco Global, the world’s leading authority on maximizing the value of business assets by delivering valuation, monetization and advisory solutions to an international marketplace. Hilco Global operates more than twenty specialized business units offering services that include asset valuation and appraisal, retail and industrial inventory acquisition and disposition, real estate and strategic capital equity investments.