Is registration necessary before granting a franchise?

The legal foundation of a franchise relationship is a trademark licence. Licensing an unregistered mark does not give the franchisee a transferable right and leaves the whole system legally weak.

I have a business licence. Is my brand protected?

No. A municipal business licence, a trade name in the commercial registry and the name on your sign do not create trademark rights over that name. Trademark rights arise, as a rule, on registration.

What if someone else uses my café name?

If your mark is registered, the routes of cessation, damages and, where appropriate, criminal complaint are open. If it is not, you must rely on unfair competition provisions, where the burden of proof is heavy and the outcome uncertain.

Do I need a separate registration for each branch?

No. Protection arises for the whole country; registration per branch is not required. But entering a new field of goods or services — starting to sell packaged products, for example — requires an additional filing.

Should I register the name or the logo?

A word mark is generally more robust: it survives a change of logo, and consumers remember a brand by its name. If budget allows, taking both is the safest structure.

Trademark Registration for Restaurants and Cafés

In hospitality the brand is worth more than the menu. A restaurant's concept, recipes and interior can be copied easily; the one thing that cannot be copied is the reputation carried by the name.

There are three moments at which registration becomes critical in this sector:

Opening a second branch — the name begins to carry value beyond a single location
Granting a franchise — the legal foundation of the relationship is a trademark licence
Starting to sell packaged products — protection moves into a new field

Which classes you need depends on your business model, and we cover that in Which Trademark Class Do Restaurants Fall Into? This article is about what registration does for the business.

A Licence and a Trade Name Are Not a Trademark

This is the most widespread misconception in the sector. None of the following gives you trademark rights:

A business licence issued by the municipality
A trade name registered in the commercial registry
A name used on your sign for years
A domain name and social media accounts

These are distinct legal institutions and none substitutes for another: Trade Name, Business Name and Trademark.

The practical consequence: someone else may register the name you have used for years and require you to change your sign. A claim of an earlier right arising from unregistered use is possible, but the burden of proof is yours and the outcome uncertain.

Franchising Cannot Be Built Without Registration

A franchise is, in essence, a trademark licence relationship. The franchisee buys the right to use your mark.

Licensing an unregistered mark creates two problems:

There is no transferable right. You have licensed something you do not own.
The system is defenceless. If one of your franchisees attempts to register the mark in their own name, you hold no registration evidencing your earlier right.

Serious franchise candidates also ask, before signing, whether the mark is registered. Its absence is a negative signal about the seriousness of the system.

How trademarks operate in franchising: Trademarks in Franchising.

Branches and Geographical Risk

Protection arises for the whole country, so registration is not required for each branch. But the reverse risk exists and materialises often:

If you grow without registering, someone using the same name in another city may register it first. That person becomes the registered right holder and can assert it against you. Having used the name for years does not automatically prevail against a registered right.

Two Traps Specific to Hospitality

1. Conflict with geographical indications

This is a sector-specific obstacle that is frequently overlooked. Expressions such as "Antep Baklava", "Adana Kebap" or "Ezine Cheese" may be registered geographical indications, and applications containing a registered geographical indication are refused.

You may sell those products — but you cannot build your name on the expression. See Geographical Indications and Trademarks.

2. Descriptive names

Names containing a dish or a cuisine type carry no distinctiveness on their own: "Kebab House", "Pide Salon", "Coffee", "Burger", "Bakery". Such elements are stripped out in the similarity assessment and the comparison is made on the remaining core word.

City names are not distinctive on their own either. For the full set of grounds see Why Are Trademark Applications Refused?

Moving Into Packaged Products

For businesses that begin packaging and selling their own coffee, sauce, dessert or spices there is an important threshold: a service registration does not cover goods.

Providing food and drink, and use of a mark on a packaged product, are different protections. Before moving into packaged goods the scope must be extended — and since classes cannot be added after registration, that means a fresh application.

Trademark registration protects the name and the logo. Other elements fall under different regimes:

Recipes are not, as a rule, the subject of trademark or patent protection; they are protected as trade secrets.
Interior design and furniture may be the subject of design registration.
Menu design and photographs fall under copyright.

The differences: Trademark, Patent, Design or Utility Model?

Before You File

Class 43 is a crowded class and similar names are common in the sector. A search of the existing register before filing shows both refusal and opposition risk before any fee is paid. The search should also cover registered geographical indications.

Let Us Protect Your Brand

Tell us about your concept, growth plans and product ambitions, and our trademark registration team will separate the scope you need now from the scope you will need at the franchise stage.