You may see Bob Timberlake, the 86-year-old artist in Lexington, North Carolina, only as a painter of rural imagery (house in the woods, wicker chair in front of hydrangeas, house surrounded by a snowy field, picked strawberries in a basket, house on an island), but he also is a brand. His name is trademarked, as is his signature and an image of a quill, to identify a variety of products that he has designed or with which he is associated. His name is attached to bedroom furniture, living room furniture, dining room furniture, kitchen furniture and wall decor (including frames, signs and plaques), plus mirrors and pillows, colognes and perfumes, dinnerware, decorative pottery, stoneware, and enamelware. Then there are the ceiling fans, electric lighting fixtures, fabrics, curtains and clothing, house paints and wood stains. He has even put his work and his name on the Bob Timberlake Boykin Collection of whiskey and wine.

His son, Dan Timberlake, a lawyer and advisor to his father, told Observer that “there are close to a dozen trademarks.”

Perhaps, we need to step back a moment and ask—Is Bob Timberlake an oddity in the art field, licensing his name to a variety of home and bath products when he isn’t painting? The answer is no. There are quite a few other artists in this space with a “brand” that pushes products in a commercial context, such as Keith Haring’s Radiant Babies on t-shirts, magnets, stationery and baseball caps. Many other artists, including Banksy (who doesn’t do licensing), Jean-Michel Basquiat (whose estate does), Dale Chihuly, Norman Rockwell and Andy Warhol, have trademarked their names for merchandising purposes.

Perhaps, we need to step back a moment to define the term. Trademarks are words, logos or images—for instance, Jolly Green Giant, Aunt Jemima, Betty Crocker or........

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