Brand Authorisation Letter Template (Australia)
Updated on 22 August 2026
A brand authorisation letter is the short document a trade mark owner gives a supplier, distributor, reseller or marketplace seller confirming they may use the brand name and logo for a stated purpose. Factories want one before printing packaging; wholesale buyers and online marketplaces want one as proof a seller is legitimate; freight and customs agents sometimes ask at the border.
Australia has an unusually clear statutory hook for why the quality clause matters. Under the Trade Marks Act 1995, a person is an authorised user only if they use the mark under the control of the owner, and the Act specifically identifies quality control over the goods or services and financial control over the other person's trading activities as forms of control — while making clear that control is not limited to those. If there is no control, the use is not authorised use, and that has consequences for the owner when a registration is challenged for non-use. A letter with no quality standard is therefore not just commercially loose; it can undercut the very registration it relies on.
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Brand Authorisation Letter
- Date:
- From:
- (ABN ),
- To:
- (ABN ),
- Valid from:
- Valid until:
(the “Owner”) owns the trade marks and brand assets listed below (the “Marks”). By this letter the Owner authorises (the “Authorised Party”) to use the Marks for the purpose and within the limits set out below, and for no other purpose. The Authorised Party uses the Marks under the control of the Owner as described in this letter.
1. The Marks
Marks covered:
Australian registration numbers, where registered:
2. Control and Quality Standards
The Authorised Party will use the Marks only on goods and services complying with: . Artwork, packaging and marketing materials bearing the Marks will be submitted to for written approval before first use and will not be changed afterwards without approval.
The Owner may request production samples and inspect goods and materials bearing the Marks: . Samples are supplied at the Authorised Party's cost. The parties record that these approval and inspection arrangements are the means by which the Owner exercises control over the character and quality of the goods and services on which the Marks are used.
3. Permitted Purpose and Scope
- Permitted purpose:
- Goods or services:
- Territory:
- Permitted channels:
Use of the Marks outside that purpose, those goods or services, that territory or those channels is not authorised. The Authorised Party will not apply to register the Marks or anything deceptively similar, use them in a business, company or domain name, or use them in a way suggesting it owns them or is the Owner.
4. Ownership and Goodwill
This letter authorises use of the Marks only. It transfers no ownership, and all rights in the Marks and all goodwill arising from the authorised use belong to the Owner. The Authorised Party will not challenge the validity of the Marks or the Owner's title to them during or after this authorisation.
The Authorised Party will not commence or threaten proceedings in relation to the Marks without the Owner's prior written consent, and will refer any apparent infringement to the Owner.
5. No Sub-licensing
The Authorised Party will not sub-license, assign or otherwise pass on any part of this authorisation, and will not permit any other business to apply the Marks to goods or materials.
6. Counterfeits and Enforcement
If the Authorised Party becomes aware of goods bearing the Marks that the Owner did not supply or authorise, it will notify the Owner promptly with the details it holds, will not deal in those goods, and will give reasonable assistance if the Owner takes action. Enforcement decisions remain the Owner's.
7. Duration and Revocation
This authorisation runs from to unless revoked earlier. The Owner may revoke it on days' written notice for any reason, and immediately if the Authorised Party breaches the control, quality or scope terms, deals in counterfeit goods, becomes insolvent, or brings the Marks into disrepute.
8. After the End
- Compliant stock already produced may be sold for days after the end date or revocation, unless revocation was for a quality or counterfeiting reason.
- Remaining branded stock will then be dealt with as follows: .
- Artwork, plates, dies, digital assets and brand guidelines will be returned or deleted on request.
- The Authorised Party will stop describing itself as authorised by the Owner and remove any such statement from its website, listings and materials.
9. Status of this Letter
This letter authorises use of the Marks. It is not a distribution, agency or franchise agreement and does not oblige either party to buy or supply anything. It is governed by the law of . Questions may be sent to .
Signed for and on behalf of the Owner
Date:
Control is the statutory test, so write it into the letter
Because authorised use turns on control, this letter is built around it. The authorised party must comply with named brand and product standards, submit artwork for approval before first use, and provide production samples on request. Those are the concrete mechanisms that demonstrate control rather than assert it.
Australian courts have looked at how control operates in practice, including within corporate groups, so the safest position is a letter that describes real approval and inspection steps and an owner that actually uses them. A clause nobody ever exercises is weaker evidence than a clause plus a file of approved artwork.
Recordal is voluntary here — but written licences still matter
Unlike some jurisdictions, Australia does not require a trade mark licence to be recorded for it to be effective. The register provides for voluntary recording of claims to interests and rights, so recordal is a choice rather than a condition.
That makes the written document more important, not less. Where nothing is on the register, the licence itself is the only evidence of what was permitted, to whom, on what goods and for how long. This template also asks whether the authorised party is to have any right to bring infringement proceedings, because the position of an authorised user is a matter the parties should settle rather than discover.
Scope: goods, territory and channels
Four questions decide what the letter gives away: which marks, on which goods or services, in which territory, and through which channels. Channels cause the most disputes. A supplier authorised to apply your logo to product for you is not thereby authorised to sell that product itself, list it on a marketplace, or advertise under your name.
This letter separates the permitted purpose from the permitted channels and says expressly that anything not listed is not authorised. It also prohibits applying to register the marks or anything deceptively similar and using them in a business or domain name — the usual ways an authorisation quietly becomes a competing claim.
Ending it without a fight
An authorisation revocable on the spot is fine for a marketplace listing and explosive for a manufacturer that has already bought printed cartons. This letter keeps immediate revocation for quality failures, counterfeiting, insolvency or breach, and otherwise gives notice plus a defined sell-off window for compliant stock.
It then says what happens to the remainder: de-brand, destroy with certification, or return at the owner's cost. Artwork, plates and digital assets come back or are deleted. Leaving that out is how grey-market stock appears months later.
What each part of the letter does
- Owner and authorised party
- Legal names, ABNs and addresses, so the letter matches ASIC and marketplace records.
- The marks
- Each mark listed with Australian registration numbers where registered.
- Control and quality standards
- The statutory heart of the letter: named standards, artwork approval and a sample and inspection right.
- Permitted purpose
- Manufacture, distribution, marketplace listing or advertising — chosen, not assumed.
- Goods and territory
- Defined goods or services and a stated territory.
- Channels
- The routes to market permitted, with everything else expressly not authorised.
- Ownership and goodwill
- No transfer of the marks; goodwill belongs to the owner; no challenge to validity.
- No sub-licensing
- Blocks passing the permission down the supply chain unless a named sub-contractor is approved.
- Enforcement rights
- Whether the authorised user may bring proceedings, settled expressly rather than left open.
- Duration, revocation and sell-off
- Dates, a notice period, immediate revocation triggers and a window to sell compliant stock.
- End-of-term stock and artwork
- De-brand, destroy or return, plus recovery of artwork and tooling.
- Counterfeit cooperation
- Optional. Reporting and assistance, with enforcement decisions left to the owner.
Australian points to check
Keep real control over the authorised use
A person is an authorised user only if they use the mark under the control of the owner; quality control over the goods or services and financial control over the user's trading activities are identified forms of control, and control is not limited to those.
Trade Marks Act 1995, s.8Remember recordal is voluntary
Australia provides for voluntary recording of claims to interests and rights in trade marks; a licence does not have to be recorded to be effective. The written letter is therefore the primary evidence of what was permitted.
Check the register before quoting numbers
Confirm ownership, classes and status on the IP Australia register rather than quoting a number from memory, particularly after an assignment or renewal.
IP Australia — trade mark searchSettle the authorised user's enforcement position
An authorised user's ability to take action depends on the Act and on the terms of the authorisation. If you do not intend the authorised party to have that right, say so.
Keep the authorisation no wider than the deal
Narrow goods, territory and channels, and state that anything unlisted is not authorised. Scope creep is hard to reverse once a distributor has built a business on it.
Give ordinary revocation notice and a sell-off window
Reserve immediate revocation for quality failures, counterfeiting, insolvency or breach. Otherwise notice plus a sell-off period avoids a dispute over committed packaging and production costs.
Confirm what the platform or buyer actually wants
Marketplace and retailer evidence requirements are commercial and change often. Ask for the current requirement rather than assuming a general letter will pass.
How to complete this letter
- Identify both parties. Enter the owner's legal name and ABN and the exact legal name of the authorised business.
- List the marks. Add each brand name and logo with the Australian registration numbers where registered.
- Set the control and quality terms. Reference the brand guidelines or specification, name an approval contact and keep the sample right.
- Set purpose, goods, territory and channels. Say what the authorised party may do, on which goods, where and through which routes to market.
- Set the dates and the exit. Enter the valid-from and valid-until dates, the revocation notice period and the sell-off window.
- Sign and file. Download the DOCX or print to PDF, sign as an authorised officer, and keep a copy with your trade mark records.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the quality clause matter so much in Australia?
Because authorised use is defined by control. Under the Trade Marks Act 1995 a person is an authorised user only if they use the mark under the control of the owner, and quality control over the goods or services is one of the identified forms of control. Without control the use is not authorised use, which can matter when a registration is challenged for non-use or when the owner needs to rely on a licensee's use.
Do we have to record the licence with IP Australia?
No. Recording claims to interests and rights in a trade mark is voluntary in Australia, so a licence does not have to be on the register to be effective. That makes the written authorisation the main evidence of what was permitted, which is a good reason to keep it specific about marks, goods, territory, channels and dates.
Is an email enough?
It is better than nothing but much weaker than a signed letter. Because control is the statutory test, you want a document that sets out standards, approval and inspection steps — the things that show control was real. A one-line email shows permission and nothing else.
Can the authorised party let its own factory use the brand?
Only if the letter says so. This template prohibits sub-licensing unless the owner approves a named sub-contractor in writing, because sub-licensing is how brand control quietly disappears down a supply chain. If a printer genuinely needs to apply the mark, name them and keep the approval and sample rights over their output.
Will this satisfy an online marketplace?
It gives platforms what they normally look for — owner, authorised entity, exact marks with registration numbers, goods, territory and a date range. But each platform sets its own evidence rules and changes them, so check the current requirement for the specific marketplace before relying on any template.
Does it need to be witnessed or notarised?
Not as a matter of Australian trade mark law. Some overseas counterparties, customs agents and tender processes ask for notarisation or an apostille as their own procedure. Ask the recipient what they actually need before paying for it.
What happens to branded stock when the authorisation ends?
Whatever the letter says, which is why this one asks. Compliant stock can be sold during a defined sell-off window, and what remains is de-branded, destroyed with certification, or returned at the owner's cost. Artwork, plates and digital assets come back or are deleted.
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Disclaimer
This template and guide are general information about Australian practice, not legal, trade mark, customs or tax advice, and nobody has reviewed your arrangement. Registry practice and platform requirements change; confirm the current position before relying on this letter.
