Naumović & Partners Featured in LIR Serbia: From Coffee Innovation to a Franchise Platform
Our team has once again been featured in the Featured Cases section of the third edition of The Legal Industry Reviews Serbia, this time through a case that shows how patent protection and a carefully structured agreement can be used to build a scalable franchise platform.
About the case: How can a patent become the basis of a franchise model?
Naumović & Partners advised a Serbian coffee concept in turning a single shop idea into a structured franchise platform. The client’s business model joins a specialty café with an in-store ‘factory’ that grinds and packages coffee on the spot, so that every product sold is freshly prepared. At the heart of the project is a proprietary machine designed specifically for this purpose, which our team first helped protect and then embed into a wider commercial structure.
Our work began with securing patent protection before the national intellectual property authority. Once granted, the patent changed the status of the machine from a technical solution into a key asset that could be licensed and monetized. This made it possible to build a franchise concept where franchise fees are economically linked to the right to use the brand, the underlying know-how and the patented technology, rather than just the visual identity of the shop.
We then prepared one franchise agreement with two distinct functional blocks. The first governs the hospitality side: the coffee shop, menu, service standards and training obligations. The second covers the technological component: point-of-sale grinding and packaging, operating procedures and integration of the machine into daily operations.
The agreement clearly identifies confidential know-how, aligns its protection with trade secret rules, regulates training as a channel for transferring that know-how, and extends brand protection to names, slogans, store design and staff appearance.
This approach enabled our client to connect innovation, brand and business practices into a cohesive franchise framework ready for long-term expansion.
The case was handled by Zoran Naumović, Attorney at Law and Managing Partner.
Why this case matters?
- It shows how patenting a technical solution can become the basis for monetization through a franchise model, rather than serving as protection alone;
- It illustrates the importance of structuring a franchise agreement into separate functional blocks – business and technological – when the franchise concept involves patented technology;
- It confirms the firm’s expertise in combining patent law, trade secret protection and franchise agreements into a single legal structure for growing brands.
The case was published in the ‘Serbia | Featured Cases’ section of the third edition of The Legal Industry Reviews Serbia.
Have a question about protecting your invention?
Follow for more legal insights:
