# Can You Let Someone Else Use Your Registered Trademark?

> Yes: a registered trademark can be used by others via a licence, franchise, contract manufacturing or intra-group consent. Routes, shared rules and pitfalls.

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- Last updated: 2026-10-23
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Yes. **A registered trademark can be made available for use by someone else while ownership stays with the proprietor.** The law expressly allows this: a trademark may be the subject of a licence, and use made with the proprietor's consent is, by law, **deemed to be use by the proprietor**. The real decision is which tool to use. There are four legal routes, and each one serves a different goal.

Trouble rarely comes from whether permission was given at all; it comes from permission given through the wrong tool. So it pays to separate the routes first:

- A licence is permission to use the trademark. It grants a single right and is the simplest tool.
- A franchise hands over the trademark together with a business model and supervision; it is how chains grow.
- Contract manufacturing means someone else makes your branded product. They get permission to produce, and the sales stay with you.
- Intra-group permission covers group companies using a trademark registered to an individual or a holding company, and it has to be documented in writing.

On all four routes the permission must be **in writing**, quality must be **supervised**, and permissions that amount to a licence must be **recorded in the register**.

## The Legal Basis: Ownership Stays, Use Is Granted

The essence of letting someone use your trademark is the separation of ownership from use. You remain the proprietor in the register; the other party receives only the authority to use the mark within the framework drawn by the contract. That gives you security first: as long as the use rests on a contract, the user never becomes a co-owner, however long it has been using the mark. There is an advantage too. Permitted use counts as your use for the purposes of the [five-year use requirement](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-use-requirement-and-the-five-year-rule). Even a proprietor that never uses its trademark itself is safe against the [risk of revocation](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/what-happens-if-a-trademark-is-not-used) if there is genuine, documented permitted use.

## Licence: The Simplest Tool

A licence is the general legal template for letting others use a trademark: by written contract, you grant permission to use the mark for all or part of the scope of the registration, for a fixed or an indefinite term. It may be reserved for a single user (exclusive) or open to several users (non-exclusive). Unless otherwise stated, it is **deemed non-exclusive**. Recording it in the register (TRY 9,870 in 2026) makes the permission visible to third parties. For the clauses of the agreement itself, see the [trademark licence agreement guide](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-licence-agreement-guide); the licensor's checklist is in [a separate article](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-licensing-checklist-for-licensors), and the licensee's in [its companion guide](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-licensing-checklist-for-licensees).

## Franchise: Handing Over the Mark With the System

If your goal is to replicate not just the trademark but a proven business model together with it, the tool is a franchise: know-how, operating standards, training and ongoing supervision are handed over in a single package with the permission to use the trademark. The trademark permission inside it is still in the nature of a licence and should be recorded in the register. A detailed comparison of the two models is in the article on [the difference between a licence and a franchise](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-licence-vs-franchise), and the trademark side of the system is in the [article on franchising](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademarks-in-franchising).

## Contract Manufacturing: Someone Else Makes It, You Sell It

If you hand over production to someone else and keep the sales for yourself, the contract manufacturer printing your trademark on the products and packaging is also a form of permitted use and should be tied to a written contract. The trademark section of a contract manufacturing agreement has three essentials: the manufacturer may use the trademark only for *your orders*, may not sell overproduction on its own account, and must comply with the quality standards. When these lines are not written in, the contract manufacturer becomes one of the most common sources of counterfeits: "night shift" production on the same line, under the same trademark, without your knowledge.

## Intra-Group Use: Invisible, But It Must Be Documented

The most common way of letting others use a trademark in Turkey is the one without a contract: the trademark is registered in the founder's personal name or to the holding company, while in practice the operating company uses it. This arrangement is legitimate, but **in its undocumented form it is fragile**. When use has to be proved, it runs into the objection that "the company using the mark is not the proprietor". In an assignment or investment negotiation, the question becomes "what is the basis for the permission?" The fix is cheap: a one-page written intra-group licence, royalty-free if need be. We covered the options for moving trademarks filed in a personal name without setting up a company over to a company in the [related article](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/registering-a-trademark-without-a-company).

## Two Neighbouring Concepts That Do Not Count as Letting Others Use the Mark

Assignment is a tool for parting with the trademark, not for letting others use it. Ownership passes permanently and there is no going back; if a permanent exit is what you want, start with the [trademark assignment guide](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/how-to-assign-a-trademark-in-turkey).

A letter of consent, by contrast, is permission for someone else to *register a similar trademark in its own name*. It does not hand over the use of your trademark. It creates a second, independent trademark in the register. The details are in the [article on letters of consent](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-registration-with-a-letter-of-consent).

## The Right Tool for Your Goal

| Your goal | The right tool |
| --- | --- |
| Letting a manufacturer or seller use my trademark and earning income from it | Licence (non-exclusive or exclusive) |
| Replicating my business model through branches or a chain | Franchise (+ licence recordal) |
| Handing over production while keeping sales in my own hands | Contract manufacturing agreement (with trademark clauses) |
| Letting my company use a trademark registered in my personal name | Written intra-group licence (may be royalty-free) |
| Exiting the trademark permanently | Assignment |
| Allowing the registration of a similar trademark | Letter of consent |

## Five Rules Shared by All Four Routes

1. **Put it in writing.** Transactions concerning a trademark are subject to the written form requirement; verbal permission neither goes into the register nor serves as proof.
2. **Define the scope.** Which products, which channel, which territory, which term? A limit that is not written down is read as no limit at all.
3. **Supervise quality.** Your trademark is associated with the quality produced by everyone you let use it; a supervision clause and actual supervision are both essential.
4. **Have the licence recorded in the register.** An unrecorded permission is invisible to third parties acting in good faith.
5. **Build an evidence archive.** Ask the user for invoices, packaging and advertising samples on a regular basis; that file is your defence under the use requirement.

## Before You Grant Use: Is Your Scope Wide Enough?

The permission you can give is limited by the protection you hold. If your registration covers only service classes, the "permission" you give a manufacturer for packaged products steps into a legal void. You cannot let anyone use a trademark in a product group where you cannot protect it either. Before sitting down to negotiate, compare the scope of your registration with the intended use; if it falls short, first extend the scope with a new application and structure the agreement so that it depends on the registration. Geography needs the same check, because **trademark protection is territorial**. A Turkish registration cannot serve as the basis for letting others use your trademark abroad. If you are going to grant a licence or franchise in an export market, you need a registration in that country; the [article on the Madrid Protocol](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/international-trademark-registration-madrid-protocol) shows the route for a multi-country application.

## The Tax Side: Questions Arise Whether There Is a Fee or Not

Income from letting others use a trademark (licence fees, royalties) is taxable income. With *royalty-free* use within a group, the question of whether transactions between related companies are at arm's length may come up instead. These items are a matter not of trademark law but of tax legislation, and they vary with the structure. Bring your financial adviser in when you set up the model. Where trademark income and expenses sit in the books is the topic of our [accounting article](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/accounting-for-trademark-registration-costs).

## Turning a Blind Eye Is Not Granting Permission

The dark twin of letting others use your trademark is saying nothing about unauthorised use. De facto use tolerated for years because "they are people we know, let them use it" produces uncertainty instead of a contract and precedent instead of income. Remaining silent for a long time may also weaken certain claims later on, though the outcome depends on the facts of the case. The rule is simple: give a contract to those you want to use the mark, and a [cease-and-desist letter](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/someone-is-using-my-trademark) to those you do not. The grey zone between the two only accumulates disputes. [Regular monitoring](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-watch-and-bulletin-monitoring) is what makes it visible.

## Four Mistakes That Sour a Permission Later On

1. The wrong tool for the goal. Non-exclusive licences signed with dreams of building a chain, and permissions given to a single manufacturer under the name "franchise", end up being subject to unexpected rules when a dispute arises. Pick the tool to fit the goal; if in doubt, go back to the table above.
2. Two promises within the same scope. If you grant one party an exclusive licence and then sign a second contract manufacturing permission in the same product group, you are in breach of one of the two contracts. Keep an inventory of the permissions you have granted in a single table.
3. No term and no exit. Permission to use a trademark with no term, renewal conditions or termination triggers written in turns into a relationship that does not end when you want it to end.
4. Licensing one item of the portfolio and forgetting the rest. The renewal calendar and Bulletin monitoring of a licensed trademark remain the proprietor's responsibility. Trademarks whose register maintenance is forgotten while the income flows in lapse while they are still under licence.

## Handshake Permissions Belong on Paper

Set up correctly, letting others use your trademark adds both income and security against the use requirement. The one wrong way to do it is without a contract and without supervision. If an arrangement of yours still runs on a verbal understanding, put it in writing before it reaches the table of an assignment, an investment or a dispute; writing it up on that day costs more than writing it now.

Tell us through our [contact page](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/iletisim) who will use your trademark and how, and we will pick the tool with you, draft the agreement and complete the licence recordal. Once permission is granted, our [trademark watch service](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/hizmetler/marka-izleme) flags both the licensee who strays beyond the agreed scope and anyone using the mark with no permission at all.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Can I let someone else use my registered trademark?

Yes. A registered trademark can be made available to someone else by contract while ownership stays with the proprietor; the trademark right may be licensed for all or some of the goods and services it covers (Article 24(1) of the Industrial Property Code). A licence grants permission to use only, a franchise adds a business model, and a contract manufacturing agreement hands over production. Whichever tool you choose, the permission must be in writing and the scope and quality conditions must be spelled out.

### Is my verbal permission enough, or is a contract really required?

No, verbal permission is not enough; a written contract is required. Legal transactions concerning a trademark, licences included, are subject to the written form requirement (Article 148(4) of the Industrial Property Code); verbal permission creates problems of both validity and proof. Recording a licence in the register also requires a written agreement bearing the parties' signatures, the goods and services and the registration number (Article 20(2) of the Implementing Regulation). Relationships settled with a handshake leave both parties unprotected on the day a dispute arises.

### Can I let someone use my trademark free of charge?

Yes. A licence does not have to be granted for a fee; royalty-free use is common among family businesses and group companies, and a licence agreement submitted for recordal states a fee only if there is one (Article 20(2)(b) of the Implementing Regulation). Being free of charge does not remove the need to put the permission in writing and to write down the quality and scope conditions; for the tax side, a financial adviser should be consulted separately.

### Does letting someone else use my trademark satisfy the use requirement?

Yes. Use of the trademark with the proprietor's consent is, by law, deemed to be use by the proprietor (Article 9(3) of the Industrial Property Code). A proprietor that never uses its trademark itself and keeps it alive solely through a licence or a network of contract manufacturers is safe against the five-year use requirement, provided that the use is genuine and can be documented. To that end, regularly ask the user for invoices, packaging and advertising samples and archive them.

### The trademark is registered in my personal name and my company uses it; is that a problem?

No, it is legitimate as permitted use and a very common arrangement in Turkey; however, the permission between the two should be documented with a written licence. Undocumented use runs into the objection that the company using the mark is not the proprietor when use has to be proved, and into the question of what the permission rests on in any future assignment, investment or tax review. A one-page intra-group licence, royalty-free if need be, closes this gap.

### Does the person I let use my trademark acquire rights to it over time?

No, not as long as the permission is based on a contract: however long the user uses the mark, it does not become a co-owner; the proprietor is whoever is recorded in the register. If a licensee breaches the terms of the licence, the proprietor can assert its trademark rights against the licensee too (Article 24(4) of the Industrial Property Code). The risk arises when use is allowed without a contract and without supervision: unchecked use tolerated for years can turn into claims of effort and reputation.

### How many people can I let use my trademark at the same time?

The law sets no numerical limit; the limits are drawn by your contracts. Under a non-exclusive licence the licensor may use the mark itself and grant further licences, and unless the contract says otherwise a licence is non-exclusive (Article 24(2) of the Industrial Property Code). If you have granted an exclusive licence, you cannot license anyone else within that scope or, unless you expressly reserved the right, use the mark yourself. A franchise network or the number of contract manufacturers grows according to need.

### Is this permission entered in the TÜRKPATENT register?

Yes. A licence can, and should, be recorded in the register: rights arising from an unrecorded licence cannot be relied on against third parties acting in good faith (Article 148(5) of the Industrial Property Code). Under the 2026 fee schedule the licence recordal fee is TRY 9,870 (item 02.01.09); the schedule is updated every year. Franchise and contract manufacturing agreements are not recorded in their entirety; the trademark use permission they contain can be recorded as a licence.

### If another seller sells my original product on a marketplace, is that also "letting them use" my trademark?

No, that is exhaustion of the trademark right, not letting someone use your trademark. Once an original product has been placed on the market by you or with your consent, its resale as a rule falls outside the scope of the right and needs no permission (Article 152 of the Industrial Property Code); you can still stop commercial use of altered or impaired products. Letting someone use your trademark means permitting its use in production, in a service or on a shop sign; selling counterfeits is plain infringement.

### What should I do if someone is using my trademark without my permission?

Do not turn a blind eye: unauthorised use is not permitted use but infringement of the trademark right. A cease-and-desist letter, a civil action to stop the infringement and claim damages (Article 149 of the Industrial Property Code) and, where the conditions are met, a criminal complaint all come into play. Remaining silent for a long time may weaken some of your claims later, depending on the facts of the case. Document the use and act the moment you notice it; regular trademark watching makes noticing easier.

## Related Resources

- [Legal Protection](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/hizmetler/hukuki-koruma): Explains attorney support for bulletin oppositions, appeals against refusals, counter-statements and trademark infringement cases.
- [Trademark Watch](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/hizmetler/marka-izleme): Covers monitoring similar applications published in the Official Trademark Bulletin and reporting them before the opposition period ends.
- [Trademark License Agreement: Turning Your Brand Into Revenue](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-licence-agreement-guide): What is a trademark license agreement in Turkey? Exclusive and non-exclusive licenses under SMK Art. 24, key clauses, recordal and the 2026 fee of TRY 9,870.
- [Trademark Licence vs Franchise: What Is the Difference?](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-licence-vs-franchise): A trademark licence grants a right of use; a franchise also transfers the business model, know-how and supervision. The two models compared in a table.
- [Licensing Out Your Trademark: What Should the Licensor Watch Out For?](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-licensing-checklist-for-licensors): Exclusive or non-exclusive, quality control, the sub-licence ban, recordal, royalty safeguards and termination: the licensor's checklist for trademark licences.
- [The Trademark Use Requirement: The Five-Year Rule and the Risk of Cancellation](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademark-use-requirement-and-the-five-year-rule): How trademark cancellation for non-use works in Turkey: the clock runs from registration, genuine use is required and TÜRKPATENT decides. Articles 9 and 26 SMK.
- [Trademarks in Franchising: The Foundation of Growing a Chain](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/trademarks-in-franchising): How to register a franchise trademark in Turkey: the classes you need, trademark clauses in the franchise agreement and what to do if a franchisee files.
- [How Do You Check Suspicious Calls and Payment Requests About Your Trademark Registration?](https://www.webx.net.tr/en/blog/fake-trademark-invoices-and-payment-requests): Is an invoice, email or call demanding payment for your trademark official? TÜRKPATENT, WIPO and EUIPO warnings, step-by-step checks and red flags to watch.