Your franchise network’s trade mark: protect the name before you grow

Your business name may be familiar to customers, but is its protection ready for a franchise network? When independent businesses start using the same brand, unclear ownership or inadequate protection becomes a shared risk. Across a franchise network, the trade mark ties each franchisee’s customer experience to the same promise. That is why you should clarify the rights before recruiting franchisees or investing in branding for new premises.

1. Establish what you own and what you can license

Start with an inventory of your brand assets. List the business name, the customer-facing network name, the logo, any product names and other key brand identifiers. For each one, record the owner, any registration and the goods or services for which it is used. Include domain names and key social media accounts, but treat these as separate rights.

A business name entered in Finland’s Trade Register, a domain name and a trade mark are not the same thing. Registering a domain name does not, in itself, give you trade mark rights. Nor does protection for a business name automatically provide the protection for goods and services that a growing network needs.

In particular, check whether the trade mark is held in the name of the current operating company, the founder or another party. The franchisor must be able to authorise the franchisee to use it. If the mark belongs to another company, obtain written confirmation of the right to grant sublicences and ensure that the arrangement can continue.

Check the logo design agreement too. Paying for design work does not, on its own, settle all copyright issues. The agreement should cover the uses and modifications the network needs. Document any transfers of rights rather than relying on recollections of email exchanges.

2. Check the scope of protection before applying

In Finland, trade mark rights are governed by the Trade Marks Act. Exclusive rights can arise through registration or through becoming established by use, but prolonged use alone does not automatically prove that a mark has become established. Do not build your network’s growth on the assumption that local recognition resolves the question of protection.

Applications to register a Finnish trade mark are made to the Finnish Patent and Registration Office, known as PRH. Applications for an EU trade mark are made to the European Union Intellectual Property Office, or EUIPO. An EU trade mark also covers Finland, but applying for broader protection is not necessarily the most appropriate option for every new network.

Before applying, carry out a clearance search for similar marks and other potential obstacles. Searching only for an identical name is not enough: similar brand identifiers can also create a likelihood of confusion. A descriptive name, meanwhile, may be refused registration because it lacks distinctiveness.

Define the goods and services based on your actual business concept. For example, café services and packaged food sold under the network’s name do not necessarily fall within the same class. You cannot freely expand the list of goods and services later under the same application. Where necessary, consult a trade mark specialist before putting the name on franchisees’ signs.

3. Set out the licence in the franchise agreement

Finland has no separate franchising act, no statutory registration system for franchise networks and no specific statutory pre-contractual disclosure document for franchising. The relationship is governed by general legislation, including the Contracts Act, the Trade Marks Act, the Unfair Business Practices Act, and Finnish and EU competition rules. The absence of franchise-specific legislation does not permit misleading claims about the mark’s protection.

The Finnish Franchising Association’s Code of Ethics is a form of self-regulation, not law. The association’s members commit to following it. Trade mark registration is a separate legal procedure: it does not mean that the franchise concept has official approval.

Identify the licensed marks and their legal status in the agreement. A pending application must not be presented as an already registered right. Agree at least the following:

• which business receives the licence and for which activities
• where and for how long the mark may be used
• whether the franchisee may share brand materials with, for example, a local advertising agency
• who approves uses that depart from the guidelines
• how suspected infringements should be reported and who will handle them.

Distinguish the geographical scope of the trade mark licence from any commercial territorial exclusivity. Permission to use the mark in a particular locality does not, by itself, mean that the agreement prevents the network from operating there through other channels.

4. Make authorised use straightforward

The agreement defines the right; practical guidelines show how to exercise it. Give franchisees approved logo files and examples of signage, workwear, packaging and local advertising. Explain what can be adapted to local needs and what requires approval.

Also explain the relationship between the network’s name and the franchisee’s registered business name. A consistent customer-facing identity does not remove the obligation to provide business identification details where required by law. Customers must be able to tell which business they are dealing with.

Agree that franchisees must not register the network’s brand identifiers, or names that could be confused with them, in their own names. Set out separately who controls local domain names and user accounts. Otherwise, control of the shared name may become fragmented across rights that the network cannot effectively manage.

5. Assign responsibility and monitor your rights

Protecting a trade mark does not end with registration. Appoint someone to monitor renewals, ownership details and changes to the business concept. Keep evidence of genuine use of the mark, such as dated marketing materials and packaging. Non-use can lead to the loss of rights if the legal conditions are met.

Give franchisees a simple way to report potentially infringing names or logos. Ask for details of what they have seen, the date, and a photograph or screenshot. Franchisees should not make legal demands independently on the network’s behalf. Centralised assessment helps distinguish genuine infringements from cases where similarity alone does not amount to infringement.

Practical checklist: confirm ownership, check the scope of protection, agree the licence terms and assign responsibility for ongoing management. This way, you give your first franchisee not just a name, but a clear and manageable right to use it.