Expert content, legal guides, industry news — everything you need to know to protect your brand.
Whose name an application is filed in determines what happens later when the mark is assigned, sold or valued. This category deals with the questions that depend on company structure: whether you can file as an individual before setting up a company, how filing and portfolio management work in limited and joint stock companies, and when registering through a sole proprietorship makes sense.
For growing companies we also treat the mark as an asset to be managed: the protection steps a startup should complete before a funding round, earning revenue from a trademark through a licence agreement, the contractual and trademark foundations of a franchise system, and how trademark valuation is reflected in the balance sheet.
An annual IP audit means building a current inventory of your trademarks, patents and designs, putting the coming renewal and annual fee dates on a calendar, and reviewing ownershi...
IP due diligence in a company acquisition means determining how the deal structure affects the rights, verifying the seller's inventory through independent registry checks, examining the chain of title that the registry does not show, and tying every risk either to the price or to a contractual protection.
Rights in works and designs an employee creates as part of their job generally belong to the employer; for inventions, the employer must claim its rights in writing within four months. For work by freelance designers, agencies and consultants, rights do not pass automatically; a written contract is required.
In contract manufacturing, register the trademark in your own name before the production relationship begins, take a written assignment of the packaging design rights from the agency, and write the ownership, confidentiality and end-of-contract fate of assets such as molds and recipes into the manufacturing agreement.
Before buying a trademark in Turkey, confirm that the registered owner is the seller and check the term, scope, use, licenses, pledges and attachments, and any pending oppositions or court actions. An assignment is valid only with a notarized contract and must be recorded in the register. A 20-point checklist.
A trademark should be registered in the name of whoever needs to hold it as the business grows: the company for multi-partner businesses, investment and franchising; the individual plus a license for sole traders and personal-name brands. Decision table, transfer cost and scenarios.
A licensee builds a business on someone else's trademark with its own money. From verifying the trademark's register record before signing to exclusivity and recordal in the register, and from the licensor's undertakings to exit scenarios, here is the licensee's complete checklist.
Letting others use your trademark under licence brings in income; an uncontrolled licence erodes both your reputation and your registration. From choosing between an exclusive and a non-exclusive licence to quality control, recordal in the register and the termination structure, here is the licensor's complete checklist.
A trademark licence grants a single right — permission to use the trademark; a franchise is a system agreement that, together with the trademark, covers the business model, know-how, training and supervision. Every franchise contains a licence, but not every licence is a franchise.
For companies with more than one brand, protection isn't achieved through one-off registrations but through portfolio management. We explain inventory-building, calendaring and gap analysis.
A trademark can be the most valuable asset that never appears on the balance sheet. We explain the valuation methods, when valuation is needed, and what drives value up.
For sole proprietorships, the trademark is registered in the name of the individual. We explain the advantages, the risks, and the route to follow when you later incorporate.
Granting a franchise means letting others use your brand. The risks of building a chain on an unregistered trademark, and the clauses your agreement needs.
A trademark licence lets others use your mark, without transferring it, so you earn revenue from it. We explain the types of licence, the key clauses, and why registering the agreement matters.
For a startup, the brand is an investment-grade asset and often the most valuable thing you own. We summarise the early, right protection strategy.
Joint stock companies typically manage several trademarks at once. We cover the strategy for protecting and managing a corporate trademark portfolio.
Turn your brand into a corporate asset by registering it in your limited company's name. A guide to the documents and process.
No company yet but want to protect your brand? We explain that registration as a natural person is possible, and how to do it.
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