Does collaboration with branded products need permission?
<p>my question is simple.
If I were to sell a food product at my takeaway shop for example our own chicken wings with Frank's redhot sauce which is a branded sauce, would we be able to advertise as Frank's red hot chicken wings or chicken wings with franks red hot sauce? 
And if that is not an issue is it possible to advertise their logo next to the picture of our chicken wings on the menu/flyer?
I feel it would only benefit the brand in use as a means of advertising and collaboration with no harm to their brand since they are still separate products.
Thank you for reading.</p>

<p>You're talking about using someone else's trademark in marketing your product. In that context you likely need permission from the licensor.</p>

<p>The licensor is the entity in the territory with exclusive legal rights over a thing that gives, sells or otherwise surrenders to another entity a limited right to use that thing in the territory.</p>

<p>The licensor might be nice and easy going, they might have a restrictive and onerous approvals process or they might completely refuse you.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>I feel it would only benefit the brand in use as a means of advertising and collaboration with no harm to their brand since they are still separate products.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>But the licensor may not hold the same belief and let's be forthright about it: you want to use <em>their</em> trademark or material to benefit <em>your</em> product or service.</p>

<p>If the usage were solely informational or descriptive (e.g. "Ingredients: ... Frank's Redhot Sauce ... ") or "collateral" (the trademarked item is part of a larger product) that might be OK. But even if it were legally OK you might nevertheless be tied up in a legal argument to establish that it's OK. </p>

<p>However, my inference from what you wrote is that the trademarked name would be given prominence in your marketing material that they could argue implies some kind of relationship or affiliation or could lead to customers being confused that the licensor was involved in producing or selling the product.</p>

<h2>A trademark must be used to identify the brand</h2>

<p>If you were to identify that <em>your</em> wings were made with Frank’s Red Hot Sauce<sup>TM or R</sup> then this is <em>exactly</em> what trademarks are for. There is little to no chance that a consumer could conclude that Frank is producing or endorsing your wings - you are using Frank’s sauce.</p>

<p>However, calling them Frank’s Red Hot Wings is likely trademark infringement because the use of the trademark is extending it to apply to <em>your</em> product, not Frank’s.</p>

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