Brand Authorisation Letter Template (Gibraltar)

Get the marks and the register right

Before writing the letter, confirm what is actually registered in Gibraltar and in whose name. A brand may hold a UK or EU registration and have no separate Gibraltar right, or hold a Gibraltar right derived from a UK registration, or hold protection preserved through the withdrawal amendments. Each of those is a different sentence in the letter.

This template therefore asks for Gibraltar registration numbers separately from any UK or EU numbers, and states which register each cited right sits on. For a customs agent, a bonded warehouse or a marketplace, that specificity is the difference between a useful document and a rejected one.

Quality control is commercial protection

Gibraltar's trade mark practice follows the English model, so an absence of quality control is not automatic abandonment — but the commercial exposure is real. Goods carrying your mark that you never approved damage the goodwill the mark represents, and in a small jurisdiction where the same suppliers serve many local businesses, one bad batch travels fast.

So the quality clause here is practical: compliance with named brand and product standards, artwork approval before first use, and production samples on request. Those are the mechanisms that let an owner stop a problem while it is still a packaging proof.

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. For Gibraltar businesses the territory question needs care, because supply chains routinely straddle Gibraltar, Spain and the UK, and an authorisation drafted for local retail should not silently authorise cross-border distribution.

This letter separates purpose from channels, states expressly that anything unlisted is not authorised, and prohibits registering the marks or anything confusingly similar or using them in a company or domain name.

Ending it without a fight

An authorisation revocable on the spot is fine for a marketplace listing and explosive for a supplier holding printed packaging. 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 — and requires artwork and tooling back or deleted. That last point matters for bonded and transit stock, where goods can sit in a warehouse long after a relationship ends.

What each part of the letter does

Owner and authorised party

Legal names, company numbers and addresses, so the letter matches company and customs records.

The marks and their registers

Each mark with Gibraltar registration numbers, and any UK or EU numbers identified as such.

Signed licence wording

Expressly a licence granted in writing and signed by the owner.

Permitted purpose

Manufacture, distribution, marketplace listing or advertising — chosen, not assumed.

Goods, territory and channels

Defined goods, a stated territory including any cross-border scope, and the permitted routes to market.

Quality control and approval

Named standards, artwork approval before first use, and a sample and inspection right.

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.

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, including stock in bond or transit.

Counterfeit cooperation

Optional. Reporting and assistance, with enforcement decisions left to the owner.

Gibraltar points to check

• Confirm what is registered in Gibraltar

  Gibraltar maintains its own trade mark register through Companies House Gibraltar, with its own procedure including extension of rights based on an existing UK registration. A UK or EU number alone may not evidence a Gibraltar right.

  Companies House Gibraltar — trade marks guidance

• Account for the withdrawal amendments

  The local trade mark legislation was amended in connection with Gibraltar's withdrawal from the European Union to preserve protection for existing EU and international-EU rights. Check which basis your right sits on before citing it.

• Put the licence in writing and sign it

  Gibraltar follows the English model for trade mark licensing, so a written, signed instrument is the right form for a licence of a registered mark rather than an email confirmation.

• Check the business licence position

  Carrying on business in Gibraltar requires a licence from the Office of Fair Trading under the Fair Trading Act 2023. If the authorised party is local, confirm it is licensed.

  Office of Fair Trading Gibraltar

• Define cross-border scope deliberately

  Supply chains routinely span Gibraltar, Spain and the UK. State whether the authorisation covers only Gibraltar, and deal separately with export, re-export and transit.

• 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.

• Deal with stock in bond or transit at the end

  Say what happens to branded goods sitting in a bonded warehouse or in transit when the authorisation ends — de-brand, destroy or return — because that stock outlasts most relationships.

How to complete this letter

1. Identify both parties. Enter the owner's legal name and company number and the exact legal name of the authorised business.
2. List the marks by register. Add Gibraltar registration numbers, and identify any UK or EU numbers separately as such.
3. Set purpose, goods, territory and channels. Say what the authorised party may do, on which goods, where — including any cross-border scope — and through which routes.
4. Add the quality standard. Reference the brand guidelines or specification, name an approval contact and keep the sample right.
5. Set the dates and the exit. Enter the valid-from and valid-until dates, the revocation notice period and the sell-off window, and deal with stock in bond.
6. Sign and file. Download the DOCX or print to PDF, sign as an authorised signatory, and keep a copy with your trade mark records.

Frequently asked questions

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