The deal was done. After months of negotiations, diligence, and late-night calls, everything was finally in place. The numbers worked. The documents were signed. The business was yours. And then, almost as an afterthought, someone asked “are we still using the founder in the marketing?” It’s the kind of question that sounds small—until you realize it isn’t. Because in many businesses today, with online marketing, influencers and social media replacing traditional marketing channels, the brand isn’t just a name or a logo. It’s often tied directly to a person.
When the Brand Is the Seller
You’ve seen it before. The owner is everywhere in the videos, on the website, in the social media posts and at the center of the company’s story. Customers recognize them. Trust them. In some cases, they are the reason customers chose that business in the first place. So when you buy the company, it feels natural to assume that you’re buying all of that too. The brand. The goodwill. The presence. The person. But legally, those are not all the same thing.
Not long after closing, the new owner launches a marketing push. They reuse some of the company’s best-performing ads—the ones featuring the founder. They refresh the website, keep the same imagery, maybe even boost a few social media posts that had done well in the past. It makes sense. That content worked. It built the business.
But then the call comes. The former owner is not comfortable being featured anymore. They don’t want their name or image tied to the business moving forward. Maybe they’re starting something new. Maybe they simply want a clean break. And suddenly, the buyer is in a position no one flagged clearly enough during the deal. They own the business, but they may not have the right to keep using the face of it.
From a buyer’s perspective, it’s easy to focus on what you’re acquiring: the assets, the contracts and the intellectual property. And to be fair, most of the content—the videos, the photos, the marketing materials—does transfer with the business. But there is a separate layer that doesn’t automatically come with it. Under New York law, a person’s name, image, and likeness can’t be used for commercial purposes without their written consent. So even if you own the video, you don’t necessarily own the right to keep using the person in it the way you might expect—especially in new or ongoing advertising. It’s a subtle distinction. And it’s where deals quietly break down.
Of course, there’s legal exposure if this goes sideways. But in many cases, the more immediate impact is practical. If the founder disappears from the brand overnight, customers notice, trust can shift and the marketing loses continuity. And if the relationship between buyer and seller starts to strain, it can ripple into other areas of the business—introductions, relationships, even internal morale. What looked like a clean transition suddenly feels unstable.
The Deals That Handle This Well
The strongest transactions don’t ignore this issue—they build around it. Sometimes that means the seller stays involved for a period of time. Not indefinitely, but long enough to help the brand transition naturally. They show up in content, support introductions, and help bridge the gap between “old” and “new.” Other times, the deal includes a clear agreement about how their name and likeness can be used going forward. Not just in the existing content, but in future marketing—what’s allowed, what isn’t, and for how long. And in some cases, the answer is more limited: the buyer can keep what already exists, but can’t continue to actively feature the seller as the face of the brand.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. But there is one consistent theme- that the issue is addressed intentionally—before closing. When you’re evaluating a business, especially one with a strong personal brand, there’s a question that deserves just as much attention as the financials: how much of this company’s value is tied to the person selling it? And just as importantly, what happens to that value the day after closing? Because if a meaningful part of the goodwill is tied to the seller’s identity, and you haven’t secured the right to continue using it—or a plan to transition away from it—you may be buying something that changes the moment you take ownership.
In today’s market, more and more businesses are built around people. Not just products or services—but personalities, visibility, and trust. And that creates a new kind of deal risk. One that doesn’t always show up in the financial statements or the standard diligence checklist. But shows up quickly after closing. Because the question isn’t just whether you bought the business, it’s whether you bought the part of it that customers actually recognize. The face of the business.
If you’re buying a founder-led business, this is not a detail to circle back to later. It’s something to structure into the deal from the start. Because once the transaction closes, your leverage shifts—and so does the conversation. And at that point, the answer to “can we still use them?” may no longer be yours to decide.
If you need assistance with business sales, mergers or acquisitions, and especially their intellectual property issues, reach out to Tracy at [email protected]. Tracy Jong is a Senior Attorney at Evans Fox LLP with 30 years of experience focusing her practice in business law, intellectual property and licensing for alcohol and cannabis. Tracy Jong is a member of the New York Bar and is a registered attorney at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. She can be reached at [email protected].
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The content has been prepared for informational purposes only; it should not be construed as legal advice, does not create or constitute an attorney-client relationship, and readers should not act upon it without seeking professional counsel.