S.S. Rana & Co. contributed the chapter Strategic considerations for licensing and franchising brands in the Indian market to Inside India’s IP Market: a Guide 2025, published on 8 April 2025 and available on both World Trademark Review (WTR) and IAM. Written by Managing Partners Vikrant Rana and Lucy Rana and Shilpi Saurav Sharan, the chapter sets out what brand owners should do before monetising a brand in India, and how to license and franchise it without losing control of its value.
About Inside India’s IP Market
World Trademark Review is a specialist publication on trademarks and brands as business assets, and its sister title IAM covers patents and IP strategy. Their joint guide, Inside India’s IP Market, explains how IP is created, protected, managed and enforced in India.
Who contributes: Chapters are Insight articles written by selected contributors, drawing on practitioners with direct experience of the Indian market.
Why it matters: The guide gives readers of WTR and IAM in India and abroad a practical view of the Indian IP landscape from practitioners working in it.
The format: The 2025 edition is published as a digital guide on the WTR and IAM websites, with each chapter available to read online and to download.
What the chapter covers
Steps before monetising a brand: The authors start with preparation. They recommend IP due diligence and a proper evaluation of the intangible assets involved before any sale, purchase or licence; clearance searches in the target market; an assessment of cultural and language risks; clarity on inventorship and ownership; protection for know-how and other IP that cannot be registered; and an IP strategy aligned with the commercialisation plan.
Franchising: The chapter looks at franchising as one of the main routes to monetising a brand in India.
Fake franchise scams: It highlights a growing problem in India: impostors who build fraudulent websites using a brand’s name and logo and offer bogus franchises or dealerships. The authors set out how brand owners can prevent these schemes and still monetise their brands through genuine franchising.
Licensing: On brand licensing, the authors stress that IP due diligence is essential to avoid conflict or a breakdown in the business relationship.
Read the full chapter on WTR or on IAM.
Licensing and franchising brands in India: the legal framework
Trademark licensing: Under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, use of a registered mark by a licensee under the owner’s control counts as permitted use, so a licence does not have to be recorded to be valid. Recording the licensee as a registered user can still be worthwhile, because it gives the licensee certain rights to act against infringers.
Franchising: India has no single franchise law. Franchise arrangements rest mainly on the Indian Contract Act, 1872, the Trade Marks Act, 1999, the Copyright Act, 1957 and the Competition Act, 2002, so the franchise agreement itself has to do most of the work on territory, quality control, fees, confidentiality and exit.
Acting against fake franchises: Brand owners can respond to impostor schemes through civil suits for infringement and passing off, complaints against infringing .in domain names under the .IN Dispute Resolution Policy, takedown requests to hosting providers and platforms, and criminal complaints for cheating.
About the authors
Vikrant Rana, Managing Partner: Vikrant leads S.S. Rana & Co. and advises Fortune 500 companies, multinationals and grassroots innovators on IP protection, licensing and strategy. In 2025 he was ranked in the Silver tier of the WTR 1000 for both prosecution and strategy and enforcement and litigation, and named a Trademark Star by Managing IP.
Lucy Rana, Managing Partner: Lucy’s practice spans trademark enforcement and litigation, prosecution and strategy, and corporate and commercial work. She was recommended in the WTR 1000 2025 for both enforcement and litigation and prosecution and strategy.
Shilpi Saurav Sharan: Shilpi Saurav Sharan of S.S. Rana & Co. co-authored the chapter.
Thought leadership and recognition in 2025
| Publication | Contribution or recognition | Edition |
| WTR and IAM: Inside India’s IP Market | Chapter: Strategic considerations for licensing and franchising brands in the Indian market | 2025 |
| WTR 1000 | Vikrant Rana: Silver tier; Lucy Rana: Recommended | 2025 |
| IP STARS (Managing IP) | Vikrant Rana: Trademark Star | 2025 |
| IBLJ Law Firm Awards | S.S. Rana & Co.: Startups (advising startup companies) | 2025 |
Related pages include SSRANA’s partners in the WTR 1000 2025, Vikrant Rana’s Trademark Star 2025 and the firm’s IBLJ Law Firm Award 2025. Each recognition is recorded on our Awards page.
We thank WTR and IAM for including our chapter in Inside India’s IP Market 2025, and congratulate Vikrant, Lucy and Shilpi on its publication.
Frequently Asked Questions
WTR and IAM Insight Contributor 2025
S.S. Rana & Co. contributed the chapter “Strategic considerations for licensing and franchising brands in the Indian market” to Inside India’s IP Market: a Guide 2025, published on 8 April 2025 and available on both World Trademark Review and IAM.
The chapter was written by Managing Partners Vikrant Rana and Lucy Rana and Shilpi Saurav Sharan of S.S. Rana & Co.
The chapter recommends IP due diligence and clearance searches, an assessment of cultural and language risks in the target market, clarity on ownership of the IP being licensed, protection for know-how and other unregistrable IP, and an IP strategy aligned with the commercialisation plan.
Fake franchise scams involve impostors who set up fraudulent websites using a brand’s name and logo and offer franchises or dealerships to unsuspecting investors. They harm both the brand and the people who pay for franchises that do not exist.
No. Under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, use of a registered mark by a licensee under the owner’s control counts as permitted use, whether or not the licensee is recorded as a registered user. Recording a registered user can still help, because it gives the licensee certain rights to bring infringement proceedings.
India has no single franchise statute. Franchise arrangements are governed mainly by the Indian Contract Act, 1872, the Trade Marks Act, 1999, the Copyright Act, 1957 and the Competition Act, 2002, which makes a carefully drafted franchise agreement especially important.
Write to info@ssrana.com with a short description of your matter, and the firm will connect you with the right team.
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