# Structural Entity Plan: TS Brand & IP Holdings

Singapore Pte Ltd that centrally holds all TS trademarks, domains, and shared intellectual property; licenses to operating entities at arm's-length royalty rates. Standard conglomerate IP-vehicle pattern — protects IP from any single operating entity's litigation or restructuring, generates clean royalty flow upstream, simplifies cross-border IP management.

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## Identity

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Entity name | TS Brand & IP Holdings Pte Ltd |
| Group | Attached to parent (non-operating layer) |
| Target launch | Year 1, Q0 (incorporated at foundation, before any operating entity exists) |
| Type | IP vehicle |
| Legal structure | Singapore Pte Ltd only — no Vietnam OpCo |
| Vietnamese majority required | No |

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## Charter

**Primary mission:** Hold and protect TS Holdings' brand and intellectual property assets centrally; license to operating entities at fair market rates; defend against infringement; ensure no single entity's legal trouble can compromise group-wide IP.

**Internal customers:** Every TS operating entity that uses any TS-related trademark, domain, or shared IP.

**External customers:** None at incorporation. Potentially licenses to external parties Y5+ (e.g., licensed franchise of Saigon Volume name to international productions — but only via TS Holdings board approval).

**What this entity does NOT do:**
- Develop IP (operating entities + TS Intel develop; TS Brand & IP Holdings only holds)
- Sell IP (only licenses)
- Operate any product or service
- Hire engineering or product staff

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## Service catalog (IP held and licensed)

**Trademarks held (Y1 filings):**

| Mark | Filed in | Class | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| TS (wordmark) | Vietnam (Cuc So huu tri tue) + Singapore (IPOS) | 9, 35, 36, 42 (variable per use) | Master trademark for portfolio |
| TS logo (design mark) | Vietnam + Singapore | same classes | Visual identity |
| TS Pay | Vietnam + Singapore | 36 (financial services) | Defensive filing pre-launch |
| Mira | Vietnam + Singapore | 9, 42 (software) | Y1 operating entity |
| CoreHR (legacy filing; may transfer to TS People) | Vietnam + Singapore | 9, 42 | Y1 entity |
| Saigon Volume | Vietnam + Singapore | 41 (production services) | Critical per D11; standalone brand |
| Signet | Vietnam + Singapore | 9, 42 | Y3 entity |
| TS Block | Vietnam + Singapore | 36 | Y2 entity |
| TS Health, TS Education, TS Land | Vietnam + Singapore | sector-specific | Y2 entities |
| TS Insight (post-merger of Gather AI + Beacon) | Vietnam + Singapore | 9, 42 | Y3 entity |

**Trademarks filed Y2+:** Argus, Hogcare, Vitrine, TS Lending, TS Wealth, TS Insurance, TS Medical AI, TS Agri AI, TS Investment Services, TS Foundation, TS Realty, country-specific marks (TS Indonesia, TS Thailand, TS Philippines).

**Domains held:**
- techsequence.com / techsequence.vn / techsequence.sg (group)
- Per-entity domains: .com, .vn, .sg primary; .co, sector-specific secondary
- Defensive registrations of typo-squatting variants for major brands
- Saigon Volume: .com, .vn, .studio, .co at minimum (per D11)

**Shared IP held (Y2+):**
- TS Intel foundational AI models (transferred from TS Intel at spin-out via IP licensing-back per D20)
- Shared methodology library (PDPD framework, cloud-migration playbook from TS Technology Consulting, AIOps runbooks from TS Managed Services)
- Patents (if any are filed by operating entities — defensive)

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## Cost / billing model

**Licensing model (royalty back to TS Brand & IP from operating entities):**

| IP type | Standard royalty | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Trademark licensing (any TS-prefixed entity using TS marks) | 1–2% of revenue | Annual true-up; minimum quarterly $1,000 per entity |
| Specific brand licensing (e.g., Signet using TS-developed sub-brand) | 1.5% of revenue | |
| Shared IP licensing (e.g., TS Intel models used by other entities) | 2–4% of revenue from licensed product line | Per D5 framework; arm's-length |
| Shared methodology (consulting frameworks) | flat fee per project use | Smaller-scale revenue |

**Why these rates:**
- Aligns with international IP-licensing benchmarks (1–3% royalty for trademark licensing within groups is defensible)
- Generates predictable upstream cash to TS Holdings parent via Brand & IP Holdings
- Vietnamese transfer-pricing safe harbor accommodates these rates

**Annual revenue trajectory:**

| Year | Royalty revenue (USD) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Y1 | $30–60K | Small — only 4 operating entities |
| Y2 | $150–300K | 11 entities; TS Block + larger entities scale royalty base |
| Y3 | $400–700K | 18 entities, TS Tech Consulting at $5M+ ARR |
| Y5 | $2–4M | 29 entities, significant maturity |
| Y8 | $8–15M | 42+ entities; mature licensing across portfolio |

**Operating cost:**

| Year | Annual cost (USD) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Y1 | $30–50K | Trademark filings; minimal headcount |
| Y2–Y3 | $50–100K | Additional filings; light external counsel |
| Y5+ | $100–200K | Trademark renewals; international filings; cross-border IP advisor |

**Net contribution to TS Holdings parent:** $30K (Y1) → $2–4M (Y5) → $8–15M (Y8). Material royalty-stream contribution from Y3 onward.

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## Team

**Headcount Y1:** 0 dedicated FTEs. Shared Services Legal Counsel manages on a fractional basis.

**Headcount Y3:** 1 dedicated IP Manager (paralegal-level + IP filings management). Reports to Shared Services Legal Counsel.

**Headcount Y5+:** 2–3 (IP Manager + IP Counsel + dedicated filings administrator).

**External support (continuous):**
- Vietnamese IP firm (filings with Cuc So huu tri tue) — Tilleke & Gibbins, Investip, or Vision Associates
- Singapore IP firm (IPOS filings) — Drew & Napier, Allen & Gledhill IP, or specialist
- International IP coordinator (Madrid Protocol filings for international expansion)

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## Governance

**Reports to:** TS Holdings parent board.

**Board:** Singapore Pte Ltd standard board — minimum 1 director (founder or designee); ideally 2 by Y3 (founder + COO of TS Shared Services).

**Key policies owned:**
- IP licensing policy (rates, terms, dispute resolution)
- Trademark filing strategy (which marks, which jurisdictions, defensive vs offensive)
- Brand-architecture guidelines (which entities are TS-prefixed, which are standalone — per D11)
- IP enforcement policy (when to litigate infringement)

**External advisors:**
- Vietnamese IP firm (continuous)
- Singapore IP firm (continuous)
- International IP coordinator (from Y4 international expansion)

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## Dependencies

**Internal dependencies:** None at incorporation. TS Holdings parent capitalizes.

**External dependencies:**
- Vietnamese and Singaporean trademark registries
- Vietnamese IP firm (filings, renewals, oppositions, enforcement)
- Singapore IP firm (same)
- Banking (DBS Singapore for receiving royalty payments)

**Regulatory:**
- Vietnamese trademark renewals (10-year cycle)
- Singapore trademark renewals (10-year cycle)
- Madrid Protocol filings for international entities (Y5+)
- Cross-border royalty payments (Vietnamese withholding tax 10% on royalties to Singapore — DTA-reduced from 15%)

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## Risks

1. **Royalty rates challenged by Vietnamese tax authorities** — if internal royalty rates appear inflated to shift profit to Singapore, tax challenge with penalties + back-taxes.
   - **Mitigation:** Transfer-pricing study by Big 4 (per D14) documenting arm's-length comparables; rates kept conservative (1–2% for trademarks); annual review.

2. **Trademark infringement by competitors** — Vietnamese market has IP enforcement challenges; competitors may use confusingly-similar marks.
   - **Mitigation:** Active monitoring via Vietnamese IP firm; defensive filings of common variants; enforcement budget for clear-cut cases.

3. **Saigon Volume brand value capture conflict** — Saigon Volume's standalone-brand strategy (D11) means its value capture flows to TS Brand & IP Holdings via royalty, but its operational independence creates tension. Operator-CEO of Saigon Volume may resist royalty payments to a parent that doesn't "deserve" credit.
   - **Mitigation:** Clear license terms documented at incorporation; royalty rate set low (1%) to minimize friction; founder personally aligned with Saigon Volume CEO on brand-architecture rationale.

4. **Trademark abandonment risk** — if entities like TS Pay or Argus are deferred or never launch, their defensive trademark filings expire (5-year non-use rule in Vietnam).
   - **Mitigation:** Quarterly review of trademark portfolio; renew or refile as needed; abandon strategically when planned entities are formally dropped.

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## Lifecycle and evolution

**Year 1 (foundation):** Singapore Pte Ltd incorporated Q0; 10–15 priority trademark filings completed by end of Q1; receives royalty from 4 operating entities by Y1 end

**Year 2–3 (scale):** Additional trademark filings as new entities launch; IP Manager hired Y3; royalty revenue scales 10x as more entities mature

**Year 4–5 (international):** Madrid Protocol filings for international expansion (Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, plus US/EU defensive); royalty stream becomes material ($2–4M/year)

**Year 6+ (mature):** Permanent infrastructure; potentially restructured if a specific brand becomes large enough to spin out as its own holding (e.g., Saigon Volume as its own brand vehicle if international production licensing develops)

**Decommissioning trigger:** Never. Brand & IP Holdings is permanent.

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## Related documents

- [../aggressive-8-year-growth-plan.md](../aggressive-8-year-growth-plan.md)
- [../../notes/decisions.md](../../notes/decisions.md) — D5 (IP licensing framework), D11 (Saigon Volume standalone branding), D14 (Big 4), D16 (TS Land branding considerations)
- [ts-shared-services.md](ts-shared-services.md) — Legal Counsel here manages Brand & IP fractionally