The original owner of the brand name is the Port Authority of New
York and New Jersey, but they covertly sold it to the World Trade
Centers Association (WTCA) for a laughable sum of money, New
Jersey’s Record newspaper reports.
The sale was recently revealed by the newspaper, who obtained the
contract through the Freedom of Information act.
The WTCA was started as a non-profit organization by one of the
people on the Port Authority’s board. Guy Tozzoli, the former
executive who died this year, had been making millions every year
by leasing the name to hundreds of licensees — among them the
Port Authority.
With the new One World Trade Center skyscraper scheduled to open
next year, companies are all vying to cash in on the name. The
Port Authority already pays $10,000 a year to use it, and would
like to continue selling branded merchandise when the building
opens up. To do this, however, it will need to dish out another
half a million dollars every year: that is how much it would cost
to provide the WTCA with their demands of their own office space
inside the new structure.
The arrangement should not leave the Port Authority broke, as
they are projected to earn $20 to $30 million every year from
merchandise alone.
The news has caused a stir among the company’s top brass. Bill
Baroni, the Port Authority’s Deputy Executive Director, was
dismayed that the deal could have gone down at all.
Speaking to the Record, he said “I am gravely concerned that a
secret deal, years ago, sold the name of the World Trade Center
for 10 bucks…and I’m going to look into the initial contract and
look into where we are today with regard to this
organization.”
Back in the day, the Port Authority used to run the region’s
airports, major bus and train terminals, as well as seaports. It
was also often criticized for spoiling its executives with lavish
benefits and arrangements. Tozzoli was himself a very
accomplished businessman, who spearheaded the construction of the
Twin Towers and built the WTC into what it is today.
But according to tax records, the man could just as well have
worked an hour a week and make over half a million dollars. That
money often came from putting the WTC brand name on anything from
pencils to postcards. Scott Richie, a WTCA representative
speaking to the Record nevertheless defended the company’s
reputation as a non-profit.
“The WTCA is a not-for-profit company,” he said. “It
has not used the trademarks to generate wealth. It has used the
trademarks for the collective benefit of its members, helping
them develop facilities around the world that foster
trade.”
The Association leases the WTC name to clients in over 100
countries, charging them each $200,000 for the initial naming
rights, then $10,000 as an annual membership fee. It still
remains unclear if any laws or ethical rules were violated with
the sale of the name. The Record could not reach the Port
Authority’s former executives for comment.
Copyright: RT