Trademark Licence Agreement Spain (Licencia de Marca)

A Trademark Licence Agreement Spain (Contrato de Licencia de Marca) is a written agreement by which the owner (titular) of a registered trademark (marca registrada) — the licensor (licenciante) — grants another party — the licensee (licenciatario) — the right to use the trademark in commercial activity, in exchange for royalties (regalías or cánones) or other agreed consideration, without transferring ownership of the mark. The Trademark Licence Agreement in Spain is governed principally by Ley 17/2001, de 7 de diciembre, de Marcas (Ley de Marcas), specifically Articles 48 through 51, which establish the legal framework for trademark licences, their scope, the rights of parties, and the rules for registration and enforceability against third parties.

Under Article 2 of Ley 17/2001, trademark rights in Spain arise from registration in the Registro de Marcas maintained by the Oficina Española de Patentes y Marcas (OEPM) — the Spanish patent and trademark office operating under the Ministerio de Industria, Comercio y Turismo. The registered trademark grants its owner the exclusive right (derecho exclusivo) to use the mark in Spain for the goods and services in the Nice Classification class or classes for which it is registered, under Articles 34 and 40 Ley 17/2001. Unregistered marks may be protected only through the law of unfair competition (Ley 3/1991 de Competencia Desleal) and, for well-known marks, under Article 8 Ley 17/2001.

Article 48 of Ley 17/2001 establishes that a trademark licence may be granted for all or part of the goods or services for which the mark is registered; for the whole of Spain or for a part of its territory; as an exclusive licence (licencia exclusiva — preventing the licensor from granting further licences and, if expressly agreed, from using the mark themselves) or non-exclusive licence (licencia no exclusiva — allowing the licensor to continue using the mark and granting parallel licences to others). Where the licence is exclusive and so registered, the exclusive licensee has standing to bring infringement proceedings in their own name under Article 48.3 Ley 17/2001.

Article 49 of Ley 17/2001 provides that trademark licences may be recorded in the Registro de Marcas — only registered licences are effective against third parties (terceros). Registration is made by filing Form M-009 with the OEPM, accompanied by the licence agreement or an extract, and payment of the applicable OEPM fee. Unregistered licences are valid between the parties but cannot be invoked against a third-party bona fide acquirer of the trademark rights.

The quality control obligation is a fundamental element of Spanish trademark law. Under Article 48.4 Ley 17/2001, the licensor may invoke the rights conferred by the trademark against a licensee who acts in breach of the licence agreement in respect of: the duration; the form in which the trademark may be used; the range of goods or services for which the licence is granted; the territory; or the quality of goods manufactured or services provided by the licensee. A Spanish trademark may be revoked (caducidad por falta de uso) under Article 58.1 Ley 17/2001 if not genuinely used in Spain within a continuous period of five years — use by the licensee with the licensor's consent counts as use by the licensor under Article 39 Ley 17/2001.

Spain applies both national trademark law (Ley 17/2001) and EU trademark law — the European Union Trade Mark (EUTM) regime under Reglamento (UE) 2017/1001, administered by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in Alicante. A licence of an EUTM covering Spain is governed by Articles 25 through 27 of Reglamento (UE) 2017/1001. Licensees should confirm whether the mark being licensed is a national Spanish mark (registered at the OEPM), an EUTM (registered at the EUIPO), or an international registration under the Madrid System (World Intellectual Property Organization — WIPO) designating Spain.

A Trademark Licence Agreement Spain is required in any commercial arrangement where the owner of a registered trademark grants another party the right to use that mark in Spain in connection with specified goods or services.

A Licencia de Marca is needed when a franchisor (franquiciador) grants a franchisee (franquiciado) the right to operate under the franchisor's brand in Spain — trademark licensing is the intellectual property core of every franchise relationship governed by Real Decreto 201/2010, which requires franchise agreements to be registered in the Registro de Franquiciadores maintained by the Ministerio de Industria.

The agreement is required when a manufacturer (fabricante) grants a distributor (distribuidor) or retailer (minorista) in Spain the right to market and sell branded products under the licensor's trademark, as part of a distribution or commercial agency arrangement governed by Ley 12/1992 de Contrato de Agencia or general commercial contract law.

A Trademark Licence Agreement is needed when an international brand owner licenses a Spanish company (sociedad limitada or sociedad anónima) to manufacture and sell products bearing the licensor's trademark in Spain — a manufacturing licence (licencia de fabricación) that must define quality standards, inspection rights, and trademark usage guidelines to protect the mark's distinctiveness and avoid revocation risk.

The document is required when a technology company grants a Spanish partner the right to use its brand in the Spanish market as part of a broader technology transfer or software distribution agreement — confirming that the trademark licence is documented separately from the software or patent licences to avoid contamination of different IP regimes.

A Licencia de Marca is needed when the OEPM-registered mark owner wishes to register the licence in the Registro de Marcas for it to be effective against third parties under Article 49 Ley 17/2001 — the OEPM requires a written signed licence agreement or a notarised extract as the basis for registration.

The agreement is also required in corporate restructurings (reorganizaciones empresariales) where a group company that owns the trademark grants intra-group licences to operating subsidiaries — a practice that must comply with transfer pricing rules (precios de transferencia) under Article 18 of the Ley del Impuesto sobre Sociedades (Ley 27/2014) when the parties are related, to confirm royalties are set at arm's length (valor de mercado).

A valid Trademark Licence Agreement Spain under Ley 17/2001 de Marcas Article 48 must include the following elements to be legally effective, registrable at the OEPM, and enforceable against licensee breaches and third parties.

Identification of Parties: Full legal name, NIF/CIF, registered address, and Registro Mercantil data of both the licensor (licenciante — the trademark owner) and the licensee (licenciatario). Where either party is a foreign entity, the applicable jurisdiction and registration details must be stated.

Trademark Identification: Precise identification of the licensed trademark(s): OEPM registration number, trademark class(es) under the Nice Classification (Clasificación de Niza), registration date, and expiry date (trademarks are registered for 10-year renewable periods under Article 31 Ley 17/2001). Where the mark is an EUTM, the EUIPO registration number must be stated and the applicable licence provisions referenced under Reglamento (UE) 2017/1001.

Scope of Licence: The specific goods and services in the licensed classes for which the licensee may use the mark; the territory within Spain (or all of Spain); and whether the licence is exclusive (exclusiva) or non-exclusive (no exclusiva) under Article 48.1 Ley 17/2001. An exclusive licence must be expressly stated — ambiguous licence terms default to non-exclusive under Spanish trademark practice.

Trademark Usage Guidelines: Detailed trademark usage requirements — approved logo formats, colour specifications, brand guidelines, approved and prohibited uses, co-branding rules, and the licensor's inspection and approval rights for licensed goods and marketing materials. These quality control provisions are essential to the licensor's ability to enforce the licence under Article 48.4 Ley 17/2001 and to maintain the mark's validity.

Royalties and Payment: The royalty structure — percentage of net sales (porcentaje sobre ventas netas), flat fee (tarifa fija), minimum annual royalty (mínimo garantizado), or milestone payments. Payment frequency, currency, accounting and audit rights, and VAT (IVA) treatment of royalty payments under Ley 37/1992. Royalties paid to a non-resident licensor are subject to withholding tax (retención) under Article 13 of the Texto Refundido del Impuesto sobre la Renta de No Residentes (Real Decreto Legislativo 5/2004) at 19% for EU residents or at treaty rates under the applicable Convenio para Evitar la Doble Imposición.

Term and Renewal: The duration of the licence (plazo de la licencia) — the licence cannot extend beyond the trademark's registration period (10 years, renewable) without renewal of the registration. Automatic renewal provisions should mirror the trademark registration renewal cycle. Termination provisions — for breach (incumplimiento), insolvency (concurso de acreedores), change of control (cambio de control), or expiry — must align with the OEPM registration status.

Registration at the OEPM: A clause obligating the licensor (or both parties) to register the licence in the Registro de Marcas of the OEPM by filing Form M-009, so that the licence is effective against third parties under Article 49 Ley 17/2001. The OEPM charges a fee per trademark per class for licence registration.

Infringement and Enforcement: Allocation of responsibility for monitoring and enforcing the trademark against infringers (infractores) and counterfeiters. Under Article 48.3 Ley 17/2001, only an exclusive licensee who has requested the trademark owner to bring infringement proceedings and the owner has refused or failed to act within a reasonable time may bring proceedings in their own name.

Confidentiality and Non-Competition: Confidentiality obligations protecting the licensor's brand strategy and know-how. Post-termination non-compete and non-solicitation provisions, if applicable, must comply with Spanish competition law.

Forms-legal.com provides this Trademark Licence Agreement Spain template as a practical starting point. All trademark licence agreements should be reviewed by a qualified abogado especialista en propiedad intelectual e industrial or a procurador before execution and OEPM registration.

Ley 17/2001 de Marcas governs trademark registration and licences in Spain. The Oficina Española de Patentes y Marcas (OEPM) administers the Registro de Marcas. Reglamento (UE) 2017/1001 governs EU Trade Marks administered by the EUIPO in Alicante. Ley 3/1991 de Competencia Desleal protects unregistered marks. The Ley del Impuesto sobre Sociedades (Ley 27/2014) regulates transfer pricing for intra-group royalties.

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.