Trademark Assignment Agreement Spain (Cesión de Marca)

A Trademark Assignment Agreement Spain (Cesión de Marca) is a formal written contract by which the owner of a registered trademark (titular de la marca) transfers full ownership of that trademark — including the exclusive right to use the mark in commerce and to prohibit third-party use — to a third party (cesionario), governed principally by the Ley 17/2001, de 7 de diciembre, de Marcas (LM) and specifically Article 46, which establishes that trademarks may be freely transferred or assigned independently of the business to which they belong.

Spanish trademark law under the Ley 17/2001 de Marcas was substantially modernised by Real Decreto-ley 23/2018 implementing EU Directive 2015/2436 (the Trade Mark Directive — Recast). The OEPM (Oficina Española de Patentes y Marcas), operating under the Ministerio de Industria, Comercio y Turismo, is the national authority responsible for registering trademarks in Spain. Spain also participates in the EU trademark system administered by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in Alicante, which grants EU trademarks (marcas de la Unión Europea — MUE) with uniform protection across all 27 EU member states under EU Regulation 2017/1001.

Under Article 46 of the Ley 17/2001 de Marcas, a trademark assignment (cesión de marca) may cover: (1) the entire trademark (cesión total) — transferring all rights in all classes for all goods and services covered by the registration; or (2) a partial assignment (cesión parcial) — transferring rights for some only of the goods and services covered by the registration, resulting in two separate trademark registrations. A partial trademark assignment is valid under Spanish law provided the resulting marks will not mislead the public about the nature, quality, or geographic origin of the goods or services.

For the trademark assignment to be effective against third parties (eficacia frente a terceros), it must be recorded in the Registro de Marcas maintained by the OEPM under Article 46.5 of the Ley 17/2001 de Marcas. Until the assignment is registered, the third-party cesionario cannot assert the trademark rights against infringers — the assigned mark remains enforceable only in the cedente's name. The registration of the assignment at the OEPM requires submission of the assignment document (or a certified extract confirming the essential terms), proof of payment of the official fee (tasa de inscripción), and the OEPM form M-9712.

The goodwill (fondo de comercio) associated with a trademark is not automatically included in the trademark assignment under Spanish law — unlike some jurisdictions, the Ley 17/2001 de Marcas expressly permits assignment without transfer of the business (cesión sin transmisión de la empresa). However, in practice, the parties often include an express transfer of goodwill, customer lists, domain names, and social media accounts associated with the brand to confirm the cesionario acquires the full commercial value of the mark.

For EU trademarks (marcas de la Unión Europea), assignment must be recorded with the EUIPO under Article 20 of EU Regulation 2017/1001. The EUIPO charges separate filing fees for recording EU trademark assignments. Where both a Spanish national trademark and an EU trademark are assigned in the same transaction, separate registrations must be filed — at the OEPM for the national mark and at the EUIPO for the EU mark.

Tax implications of trademark assignments in Spain arise under several regimes. Corporate assignors are subject to Impuesto sobre Sociedades (IS) on any gain at the standard 25% rate under Ley 27/2014. Individual assignors report capital gains (ganancias patrimoniales) under IRPF at savings rates of 19%–28%. The assignment document, if executed before a Notario Público, may be subject to Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales y Actos Jurídicos Documentados (ITP y AJD) under RDL 1/1993. Where the trademark is assigned as part of the sale of a business (transmisión de empresa), the entire transaction may qualify for a VAT exemption under Article 7.1 of the Ley del IVA (Ley 37/1992) as a transfer of a going concern (transmisión de una unidad económica autónoma).

A Trademark Assignment Agreement Spain is required whenever the owner of a Spanish national trademark or EU trademark wishes to transfer full ownership of that mark to another party under Article 46 of the Ley 17/2001 de Marcas.

The Cesión de Marca is needed when a company (sociedad limitada or sociedad anónima) sells its brand to a competitor or investor as part of a business acquisition (adquisición empresarial), brand portfolio transaction, or asset sale (venta de activos) — confirming the buyer acquires clear, registered title to the trademark.

A Trademark Assignment is required when an entrepreneur or startup (emprendedor or startup) who registered a brand under their personal name wishes to transfer ownership to a newly formed company (sociedad de nueva constitución) to consolidate IP in the corporate entity for investment or funding purposes.

The document is needed when a licensor who has previously granted a trademark licence (licencia de marca) under Article 48 of the Ley 17/2001 wishes to sell the mark outright to the licensee or to a third party — terminating the licensing arrangement and transferring full ownership.

A Trademark Assignment Agreement is required when a holding company (sociedad holding) reorganises its brand portfolio and reassigns trademarks between group subsidiaries under the Ley de Sociedades de Capital (RDL 1/2010) — for example, centralising all IP in a dedicated IP holding entity (IP holding) to optimise Impuesto sobre Sociedades treatment under the patent box regime (Artículo 23 de la Ley 27/2014 del IS).

The agreement is also needed in insolvency or pre-insolvency restructuring (reestructuración preconcursal) when a company sells its brand as a going-concern asset to raise funds and satisfy creditors, with the assignment registered at the OEPM to give the buyer good title free of the insolvency proceedings under the Ley Concursal (RDL 1/2020).

Parties in Spain should prepare a Trademark Assignment Agreement Spain (Cesión de Marca) proactively rather than waiting for a dispute to arise. Courts interpret agreements based on the written terms rather than oral representations. Under the Ley de Sociedades de Capital (LSC) RDL 1/2010, the Registro Mercantil maintains the register of Spanish companies. The Código de Comercio 1885 governs commercial obligations. The Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT) administers Impuesto sobre Sociedades (IS) under Ley 27/2014. The Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) enforces competition law. The Código Civil governs general contractual obligations under Article 1255. Where the transaction involves regulated activities, prior approval from the relevant authority may be required before execution.

A valid Trademark Assignment Agreement Spain under Ley 17/2001 de Marcas Article 46 must contain the following essential elements to be registrable with the OEPM and enforceable against third parties.

Identification of the Parties: Full legal name, NIF (for companies) or DNI/NIE (for individuals), and registered address of both the cedente (assignor-trademark owner) and the cesionario (assignee). Where the cedente is a company, its Registro Mercantil registration number and the identity and capacity of its legal representative must be stated.

Identification of the Trademark: Precise identification of the trademark being assigned — the registration number (número de registro) assigned by the OEPM or EUIPO, the trademark name or logo description (denominación o descripción del signo), the Nice Classification classes (clases de Niza) and specific goods and/or services covered, the filing date (fecha de solicitud), the registration date (fecha de registro), and the expiry date (fecha de caducidad) of the current registration period. The trademark register entry (certificado de registro de marca) should be referenced.

Scope of the Assignment — Total or Partial: A statement of whether the assignment is total (covering all goods and services in all registered classes) or partial (covering only specified goods/services or classes). For partial assignments, precise specification of the goods and services being assigned — and those being retained — is essential to avoid confusion and to enable the OEPM to create two separate registrations.

Assignment Price and Payment Terms: The agreed price (precio de cesión) or consideration for the trademark — whether a lump sum (precio alzado), deferred payments, or earnout based on future revenues. The assignment price should reflect the mark's commercial value (valor de mercado), taking into account the brand's recognition, the volume of sales generated under the brand, any pending proceedings, and the territory of registration. Structuring the consideration may have IVA and IS consequences that should be addressed.

Transfer of Associated Assets: A list of associated assets transferred with the mark — domain names (nombres de dominio) registered under .es or .com incorporating the trademark, social media accounts (cuentas en redes sociales), trade names (nombres comerciales) registered at the OEPM under Ley 17/2001, and goodwill (fondo de comercio) associated with the brand. These assets are not automatically included in the trademark assignment under Spanish law and must be expressly listed.

OEPM Registration Obligation: A clause designating which party (cedente or cesionario) is responsible for filing the assignment at the OEPM within a specified deadline, and bearing the official OEPM registration fee. Under Article 46.5 of the Ley 17/2001 de Marcas, the assignment is effective against third parties only upon OEPM registration.

Warranties: The cedente's warranties that (a) the trademark is validly registered and in force; (b) the trademark has been used during the last five years and is not subject to revocation for non-use (caducidad por falta de uso) under Article 39 of the Ley 17/2001; (c) no opposition proceedings (oposiciones), cancellation actions (acciones de nulidad or caducidad), or infringement disputes are pending before the OEPM or the competent Juzgado de lo Mercantil; (d) the trademark is free of licences, pledges (prenda de marca under Article 47 LM), and other encumbrances unless disclosed.

Non-Compete and Non-Use Undertaking: An undertaking by the cedente not to use the assigned mark or confusingly similar marks after the assignment date, to protect the cesionario against dilution of the acquired brand.

Forms-legal.com provides this Trademark Assignment Agreement Spain template as a practical starting point. All trademark assignments should be reviewed by a qualified abogado or agente de la propiedad industrial (API) before filing at the OEPM, to confirm the mark's current status, clear any encumbrances, and optimise the tax and commercial structure of the transaction.

Under the Ley de Sociedades de Capital (LSC) RDL 1/2010, the Registro Mercantil maintains the register of Spanish companies. The Código de Comercio 1885 governs commercial obligations. The Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT) administers Impuesto sobre Sociedades (IS) under Ley 27/2014. The Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) enforces competition law. The Código Civil governs general contractual obligations under Article 1255.