Brand Licensing & Coexistence
Your trademark can generate revenue through licensing — or resolve conflicts without litigation through coexistence agreements. Both require precise legal drafting.
Do You Actually Need This?
These four situations call for a licensing or coexistence agreement rather than litigation or silence.
A partner or franchisee wants to use your brand.
An undocumented or imprecise trademark license can destroy your registration. The USPTO and CIPO require that licensors maintain quality control over how their mark is used — a bare license without control provisions can be deemed an "abandonment" of the mark.
You discovered a conflict and want to resolve it without suing.
A coexistence agreement lets both parties operate with clearly defined boundaries — territory, goods/services, and use restrictions — while avoiding the cost and risk of TTAB or federal litigation.
Your examiner has cited a third-party mark and requires a consent letter.
When a USPTO or CIPO examiner cites an existing registration as a potential conflict, a consent letter from the owner of that mark can overcome the rejection. Drafting one that actually works requires understanding what the examiner needs.
You want to monetize your IP without manufacturing or distributing yourself.
A trademark license lets you collect royalties from businesses operating under your brand — in specific territories, product lines, or channels — without running those operations yourself.
What You Get
- License Agreement
Trademark License Drafting
A complete trademark license agreement — exclusive or non-exclusive, with quality control provisions, royalty structure, territory, permitted use, and termination rights that protect your mark.
- Coexistence Agreement
Brand Coexistence Framework
A coexistence agreement that defines the boundary between two similar marks — geographic limits, product/service scope, and mutual non-challenge provisions — with enough specificity to be enforceable.
- Consent Letter
USPTO / CIPO Consent Letter
A carefully drafted consent letter for submission to the USPTO or CIPO — structured to address the examiner's specific objection and maximize the chance of overcoming the citation.
Flat Fee. No Surprises.
- Recommended
Trademark License Agreement
From $1,800flat fee- Full license agreement drafting
- Quality control and royalty provisions
- Territory and permitted use definitions
- One round of revisions
Coexistence or Consent Letter
From $1,200flat fee- Coexistence agreement or consent letter drafting
- Examiner objection analysis
- Negotiation support (one round)
- Final document for registration submission
Your Questions Answered
A trademark license is an agreement granting another party the right to use your mark under defined conditions. Quality control provisions are legally required — without them, the license is a "naked license" that can result in the abandonment of your trademark rights.
A coexistence agreement is a contract between two parties with similar marks that defines how each can use their mark without infringing the other — typically by restricting geography, product lines, or channels. It avoids litigation and gives both parties certainty.
A consent letter is a document from the owner of a cited mark consenting to the registration of a similar mark. USPTO examiners sometimes require one when they cite a third-party registration as a potential source-of-confusion bar. A well-drafted consent letter can overcome the rejection.
Yes, but you should register as quickly as possible. Licensing an unregistered mark is riskier because your rights are based on common-law use, which is geographically limited and harder to enforce. A registered mark gives the licensee and licensor both significantly more certainty.
That depends on how the license is drafted. If the license is assignable, it transfers with the business. If it is personal to the original licensor, it may terminate on transfer. Good license drafting addresses change-of-control scenarios explicitly — which is why templates are dangerous.
