When creating a restaurant brand or establishing a franchise system, the concept of intellectual property (IP) is perhaps as important as kitchen equipment. Many elements, from the right to the name and logo, to secret recipes and decoration, constitute the moral value of your business. Indeed, a large part of today’s company values come not from tangible assets, but from intangible assets such as brands and patents (approximately 90% of S&P 500 company values consist of intangible assets). If you want to create a successful restaurant chain, protecting these valuable intellectual assets will provide both a competitive advantage and legal rights against potential imitators. Especially in the franchise model, the relationship between the franchisor (licensor) and the franchisee (licensee) is essentially a licensing of a business model and its related intellectual assets.

In this guide, we discuss the importance of intellectual property for restaurant businesses, the elements that need to be protected, registration processes in the European Union and Germany, and important clauses to consider in franchise agreements.

Why is Intellectual Property Important?

Intellectual property is directly related to a business’s brand value, uniqueness, and competitiveness. In the restaurant sector, a good brand name and visual identity gain customer trust and create loyalty. For example, a recognized restaurant’s logo or name creates an expectation of quality in the customer. This brand value is among the foremost of your business’s intangible assets and, when properly protected, contributes significantly to your company’s total value. Protecting intellectual property rights helps your business maintain its market share by preventing imitation or unfair competition attempts. Otherwise, the concept you have painstakingly created can be copied by others, and your originality can be damaged.

At the same time, IP plays a critical role in franchise systems. The franchisee entrepreneur obtains the right to use your brand, concept, and know-how in exchange for a certain fee. This is only possible if your brand, logo, and operation manual are legally protected. Franchising, in essence, is the licensing of a successful business model and its integral intellectual property rights. By registering and protecting your brand and other intellectual assets, you grant franchisees only a right of use and safeguard your brand integrity. Consequently, investing in intellectual property rights is vital for your brand’s reputation, continuity, and growth in the long term.

What Elements Need to be Protected in Restaurants?

The intellectual property elements that can be protected in a restaurant business are far more numerous than initially anticipated. Below is a list of the main elements that need to be protected in a restaurant or food service concept:

• Brand Name, Logo, and Slogan
• Product and Packaging Designs
• Interior Design and Decoration Concept
• Menu Contents and Recipes
• Operations Manual and Training Materials
• Technological Inventions and Software
• Domain Name and Digital Assets

Each of the above elements forms the unique identity of your business. Which of these assets can be registered or how they will be protected is detailed further in the text.

Trademark, Design, Copyright, Patent: When is Which Registration Needed?

When creating an intellectual property strategy for your restaurant concept, it is important to know which type of protection to apply for each element. We can summarize the scopes of different protection types such as trademark, design, copyright, and patent, and when they come into play, as follows:

• Trademark Registration: For your restaurant’s name, logo, and slogan (if any), the first protection to be made is trademark registration. Trademark registration gives your business the right to exclusively use its name and visual identity. To obtain trademark protection in Germany or across the EU, you must register your trademark with the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) or the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). Trademark registration provides your business with a legal title; it allows you to sue against infringing marks and also builds credibility in the market. For example, when a name like “Köfteci XXX” or its distinctive logo is registered, others are prevented from opening restaurants with this or similar names.
  • When is it necessary? It is always best to register your trademark before starting your business.
  • The protection period is 10 years from the application date and can be renewed indefinitely for 10-year periods.
• Design Registration: If there is an original design in the physical elements of your restaurant, you can consider industrial design registration. For example, a uniquely shaped package, a distinctively styled serving equipment, uniquely patterned wallpapers, or decorative objects can be subject to design registration. Design registration protects the two- or three-dimensional appearance of the object in question and prevents others from using the same or similar design.
  • When is it necessary? If your design elements play an important role in your business’s identity and make a difference in the market, they should be registered.
  • Applications for design registration can be made again through the EUIPO (Community Design – Registered Community Design) or DPMA (German national design registration, formerly known as Geschmacksmuster).
  • The protection period is initially 5 years and can be extended for 5-year periods up to a total of 25 years.
• Copyright: In restaurant businesses, copyright generally arises automatically. When you create a written, visual, or audio work (e.g., the design and texts of your menu booklet, original content on your website, photos, training videos, even your own recipes), if these contents qualify as a work, they are under copyright protection from the moment of creation. In Germany, no registration or application is required for copyright; creating an original work is sufficient for protection. However, to facilitate proof in case of copyright infringement, it is advisable to register these works with a notary public or a digital timestamp when the time comes.
  • When does it come into play? If your restaurant has creative content such as an operations manual, menu design, photos, and videos, you already hold the copyright. You do not need to register them separately, but if you are franchising, you should clearly state in the contract that you are only transferring the right to use these contents and that you are the actual rights holder. Copyright grants the author exclusive rights such as reproduction, distribution, and performance; therefore, you can pursue legal action in case of unauthorized copying.
• Patent / Utility Model: While patent requirements are not common in the restaurant sector, they may apply to some innovative applications. A patent protects a technical invention (device, method, formula). For example, if you have developed a special cooking device, a food processing technique, or kitchen technology unique to you, patenting it prevents competitors from imitating this invention. A utility model, on the other hand, is a type of protection used for smaller-scale technical innovations that do not require as high an inventive step as a patent (known as “Gebrauchsmuster” in Germany).
  • When is it necessary? If your business has a technological innovation that provides a competitive advantage – for example, a packaging system that maintains heat for a long time, a special sauce dispensing apparatus, or your own software – a patent/utility model application should be considered.
  • With a patent, you obtain an exclusive right for approximately 20 years. However, remember that a patent application makes your invention public, and it becomes available for anyone to use once its term expires. For this reason, easily copied information, especially recipes, is often kept as trade secrets rather than patented.
  • If you need to file a patent application, you can apply to the DPMA for Germany or the European Patent Office (EPO) if protection is desired in multiple countries.

The above summary is a general guide on which type of intellectual property to activate in which situation. To summarize: trademark registration is essential for almost every restaurant; design registration is critical for concepts with original designs; copyrights already protect your creative content, and a patent only comes into play in cases where there is truly a technical innovation.

Clauses to Include in Franchise Agreements

If you are the franchisor (or considering becoming a franchisee), it is very important that the provisions related to intellectual property in the franchise agreement are clear and precise. Here are the key clauses that should be included in franchise agreements:

• Definition of Brand and License Rights: It should be stated that the franchisor owns the registered trademarks, logos, and other intellectual property rights, and that the franchisee is granted only a limited and temporary license to use these rights. The franchisee has the right to use the brand during the contract period, but the rights to the brand continue to be protected by the owner.
• License Duration and Scope: The geographical area and duration of the use license granted by the franchisor must be clearly defined (e.g., a 5-year right of use valid only in Germany). If the contract is not renewed at the end of this period, the franchisee’s right to use the brand and the system will also terminate.
• Prohibition of Registration and Modification: The franchisee must agree that they cannot make any changes to the franchisor’s brand or other registered rights, nor can they attempt to register them in their own name. For example, the franchisee cannot change the franchisor’s logo and register it as a new brand or create a similar brand.
• Protection of Confidential Information: Clauses should be included for the protection of confidential information shared within the franchise system (original recipes, supplier lists, special techniques, etc.). The franchisee should be prohibited from sharing such trade secrets with third parties or using them themselves; there should be a confidentiality obligation during and after the contract period.
• Sanctions in Case of Infringement: Sanctions to be applied in case of intellectual property rights infringement should be clearly stated. For example, provisions such as monetary compensation can be claimed if unauthorized use or copying is detected, and immediate termination of the contract upon repetition, provide deterrence. This way, the franchisee knows the cost of behavior that would harm the brand in advance.
• Post-Contract Provisions: It should be stated that when the franchise agreement expires or is terminated, the franchisee must cease all brand usage and return relevant materials. For example, removal of the brand name from signs, transfer of digital accounts, and return of the operations manual are usually included in the contract. Upon termination of the contract, the franchisee must undertake not to use the brand anymore and not to copy any part of the system.

These clauses ensure that the franchisor protects its intellectual property rights and maintains the integrity of the franchise system. For the franchisee, they define the boundaries and rights in advance, preventing potential disputes. When drafting the contract, it is important to use clear language that balances the rights and obligations of both parties and to seek legal advice from an expert if necessary.

Applied Example Tables: Products Requiring/Not Requiring Registration

The tables below provide examples of which elements within a restaurant concept need to be registered and which do not require registration. These examples aim to provide a more concrete understanding of the principles discussed above in practice.

Products Requiring Registration – Examples

As can be seen from the table above, any product carrying a brand name and logo (box, cup, napkin, etc.) must be protected by trademark registration. Original physical designs (packaging shape, pattern, equipment) can be subject to design registration. While creative content (menu design, graphics, texts) is already protected by copyright, in very special cases, technical inventions can be patented.

Products Not Requiring Registration – Examples

This second table provides examples of general and non-original products that are not subject to registration. For example, there is no need to obtain trademark or design registration for a standard cutlery set used by any restaurant or a plain sauce container without your logo printed on it. Since such products are common, non-original equipment used by everyone, they do not have a legally protectable aspect. Similarly, uniform materials used for health and hygiene purposes (hairnets, gloves, etc.) or unbranded equipment are also outside the scope of registration.

In short: Every design, name, or content unique to your brand or concept should be protected by registration as much as possible. In contrast, there is no need to go through the registration process for products that are not distinctive and are for general use. Being able to make this distinction allows you to avoid unnecessary costs and effort and to focus on truly important assets.