Resurrected “Arthur Andersen” Shuts Down Over Trademark Dispute

The recently launched professional services consultancy Arthur Andersen, as partial settlement of a trademark dispute with another entity called Andersen Tax, has shut down its U.S branch. The original Arthur Andersen/Arthur Andersen worldwide collapsed as part of the fallout from the Enron and Worldcom debacles of the early 2000s. According an article in Accounting Today, Andersen Tax, which was founded by a group of former Andersen partners, bought the rights to the Andersen name in 2014, and it has the support of former Andersen CEOs as well as the Andersen founder’s great-granddaughter, Kristin Andersen. This dispute is not over, however, as the new Arthur Andersen – which was formed by a French businessman — is said to have reconstituted the entity in more than a dozen countries under the Arthur Andersen name. Anderson Tax managing director and associate counsel Oscar Alcantara said the dispute will continue in other venues. “Because trademark law is territorial in nature, we must enforce our rights country-by-country,” he said.