trademark assignment cover sheet

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Trademark Assignment

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A Trademark Assignment is a document used when one person owns a registered trademark (like a brand name or logo ) and wishes to transfer the ownership of that trademark to another person. Written Trademark Assignments are important, as it's best for both parties to have a memorialized record of the assignment.

Trademark Assignments allow the easy transfer of the mark. They contain all the information needed to record the assignment with the United States Patent Office (USPTO) . Recordation with the USPTO is necessary for all registered trademarks that are being transferred, and it is a good way to ensure everything flows smoothly with the assignment.

This is different than a Licensing Agreement , as here, the entirety of the mark is being transferred to a new party. In a Licensing Agreement, the mark still belongs to the original owner, but the other party pays royalties for permission to use it.

This is also slightly different than an Intellectual Property Release . Although that form could be used for a trademark, generally it is used for copyrighted material, like works of art or pieces of music. In that case, payment is not made and instead, the copyrighted works are simply "released," or given, to another party.

This document can also be distinguished from an Intellectual Property Permission Letter , as there, one party is writing to request permission to use the intellectual property of another. A Licensing Agreement or Intellectual Property Release or even Trademark Assignment could come after the Intellectual Property Permission Letter, but that is not a formal legal document, and is instead, a template for a letter to be used to have the initial conversation about intellectual property use.

How to use this document

This document can be used to transfer the ownership of an existing trademark or when an individual would like an existing trademark transferred to them, as long as the owner agrees. It should be used when both parties understand that the trademark will be completely assigned (in other words, this is not a license, as noted above, and no royalties will be due after the assignment) and wish to create a record of their agreement.

This document will allow the parties to fill in details of the mark to be transferred, as well as ensure that everything needed for recordation with the USPTO is present. Either party - either the person assigning the trademark or the person receiving the trademark - can fill out this form.

Once the form is complete, the parties can undertake the following steps:

1) Sign and execute the form in front of a notary (both parties)

2) Have the notarization completed

3) Record the Trademark Assignment with the United States Patent and Trademark Office

Applicable law

Trademark Assignments are related to the trademark law of the United States, which is covered by a federal statute called the Lanham Act. The section of the Lanham Act specifically referring to assignments is 15 U.S.C. § 1060(a).

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A guide to help you: How to Register A Trademark

Other names for the document:

Agreement to Assign Brand, Assignment for Trademark, Brand Assignment, Intellectual Property Assignment Agreement, Logo Assignment

Country: United States

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USPTO Trademark Assignment: Everything You Need To Know

USPTO trademark assignment is the process of assigning a trademark you have registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to a third party. 3 min read updated on February 01, 2023

Updated November 25, 2020:

USPTO trademark assignment is the process of assigning a trademark you have registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to a third party. A trademark is a symbol, word, device, phrase, or combined elements that represent your business or brand. When this mark is associated with the quality of your services, it is a valuable form of intellectual property (IP). Because this is considered an asset, it can be assigned. Assignment means to transfer the ownership rights of your trademark to a third party in exchange for profit or benefit. Registered and pending trademarks, as well as patents and patent applications, can be assigned. You must file an assignment agreement with the USPTO. Business reorganization, acquisition, and other circumstances may result in a trademark assignment.

Steps in Assigning a Trademark

• Draft an assignment agreement and have it signed by both parties. Name the person or company buying the trademark as the assignee and the current trademark owner as the assignor. Clearly identify both these parties as well as the trademark in question. Establish terms such as the cost of the trademark, how disputes about the assignment will be settled, and who will pay the transfer fee.
• Fill out the Recordation Form Cover Sheet, which can be completed online. You'll need to include the name and address of a registered agent to receive official USPTO information.
• Submit both the agreement and the cover sheet to the USPTO's Assignment Recordation unit. This can be done online, by fax, or through standard mail. The latter two options require you to establish a deposit account to pay the USPTO recording fee. Mailed forms can be submitted with a money order or check payable to the USPTO director.
• If your trademark is state-registered, you must also record the transfer with the applicable state.
• The USPTO Patent and Trademark Database will be automatically updated for assignments as well as name changes and mergers. When filling out your form, check one of those boxes for the nature of conveyance to ensure that records are updated. Do not select other, which will not update the record. The records will also not be updated if you file multiple documents with the same execution date, the application is in a blackout period, or you have exceeded the allowed number of ownership changes. In these cases, you must make a written request to have the database updated.
• Choose the correct conveyance type, either assignment of part of the interest or assignment of the entire interest along with the associated goodwill.

Points To Remember

All trademark transfers must also include the mark's associated goodwill . This includes the earning power created by customer recognition of the mark. Trademark assignment may be found invalid if the goodwill does not accompany the transfer of the mark.

Failing to follow the ownership transfer procedures can result in liability if the assignee infringes on a third-party trademark. If you buy a trademark and the original owner does not transfer ownership, a dispute could result.

Check the database to determine whether the updates have been made. Click ownership to display the current owner or assignment to display the entire chain of title.

Do not use assignment if you simply need to change your name as the trademark owner. Instead, record the name change through the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch .

Patent and Trademark Ownership

When it comes to a patent, owning the patent gives you the exclusive right to sell, manufacture, and use the invention in question. Patents last for 20 years while trademark registration lasts for 10 years and can be renewed. The term ownership references the current holder of a trademark or patent. If you own a registered trademark, no one else can use that mark on their products or services, and imports carrying an infringing mark may be blocked from entry by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Assignment Fees

While trademark assignment once carried a $25 fee and a $40 fee was required for trademarks, the USPTO recently discontinued this fee for patents and not for trademarks. That's because trademarks are rarely assigned while the assignment is quite common in the fast-paced world of patents.

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Content Approved by UpCounsel

• Trademark Assignment Recordation
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Trademark Assignments

On the most fundamental level, a trademark assignment is simply the situation under which an existing trademark holder transfers the rights to the trademark to another individual/entity.  Specifically, the original trademark owner transfers, sells, or assigns his rights to the trademark to a new party and it is incumbent on the new party to register this change of ownership with the USPTO.  For those more technically inclined, according to the Trademark Federal Statutes and Rules (TFSR) , an “Assignment means a transfer by a party of all or part of its right, title and interest in a patent, patent application, registered mark or a mark for which an application to register has been filed.”

Yes. You Need to Have a Trademark Assignment Agreement Drafted

Trademark assignments – the fine print.

Assignments Must be in Writing

The USPTO has adopted the broader position of government bodies and agencies to mandate records and documentation. If you are engaging in a trademark assignment agreement (as either the buyer or seller), make sure the full scope and contours of the deal are in writing.

Partial Assignments

Trademarks, like other forms of property, may, in fact, be owned by multiple people/entities at any given time.  Therefore, through the operation of law and contract, one of the co-owners may very well have the right to assign his partial and isolated ownership interest in the trademark to another.  Or, if the trademark has only one owner on record, the owner may transfer and assign a designated portion of his right to the trademark to another. This partial assignment should be documented and filed with the USPTO .

What Should I Submit to the USPTO For a Valid Trademark Assignment

Keep On Documenting

Remember, the USPTO is a Government body with cumbersome (but arguably necessary) logistical requests designed to put law and order to a colossal amount of data. The USPTO wants things nice and orderly and to maximize the likelihood of smooth and efficient trademark assignments, require the following:

TMEP 503(b) – SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

To record an assignment document or other document affecting title to a trademark application or registration, a legible cover sheet and one of the following must be submitted:

• (1) A copy of the document;
• (2) A copy of an extract from the document evidencing the effect on title; or
• (3) A statement signed by both the party conveying the interest  and  the party receiving the interest explaining how the conveyance affects title.

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37 CFR § 3.31 - Cover sheet content.

(a) Each patent or trademark cover sheet required by § 3.28 must contain:

(1) The name of the party conveying the interest;

(2) The name and address of the party receiving the interest;

(3) A description of the interest conveyed or transaction to be recorded;

(4) Identification of the interests involved:

(i) For trademark assignments and trademark name changes: Each trademark registration number and each trademark application number, if known, against which the Office is to record the document . If the trademark application number is not known, a copy of the application or a reproduction of the trademark must be submitted, along with an estimate of the date that the Office received the application ; or

(ii) For any other document affecting title to a trademark or patent application, registration or patent: Each trademark or patent application number or each trademark registration number or patent against which the document is to be recorded, or an indication that the document is filed together with a patent application ;

(5) The name and address of the party to whom correspondence concerning the request to record the document should be mailed;

(6) The date the document was executed;

(7) The signature of the party submitting the document . For an assignment document or name change filed electronically, the person who signs the cover sheet must either:

(i) Place a symbol comprised of letters, numbers, and/or punctuation marks between forward slash marks (e.g., /Thomas O'Malley III/) in the signature block on the electronic submission; or

(ii) Sign the cover sheet using some other form of electronic signature specified by the Director.

(8) For trademark assignments, the entity and citizenship of the party receiving the interest. In addition, if the party receiving the interest is a domestic partnership or domestic joint venture, the cover sheet must set forth the names, legal entities, and national citizenship (or the state or country of organization) of all general partners or active members that compose the partnership or joint venture.

(b) A cover sheet should not refer to both patents and trademarks, since any information, including information about pending patent applications , submitted with a request for recordation of a document against a trademark application or trademark registration will become public record upon recordation.

(c) Each patent cover sheet required by § 3.28 seeking to record a governmental interest as provided by § 3.11(b) must:

(1) Indicate that the document relates to a Government interest; and

(2) Indicate, if applicable, that the document to be recorded is not a document affecting title (see § 3.41(b) ).

(d) Each trademark cover sheet required by § 3.28 seeking to record a document against a trademark application or registration should include, in addition to the serial number or registration number of the trademark, identification of the trademark or a description of the trademark, against which the Office is to record the document .

(e) Each patent or trademark cover sheet required by § 3.28 should contain the number of applications, patents or registrations identified in the cover sheet and the total fee.

(f) Each trademark cover sheet should include the citizenship of the party conveying the interest.

(g) The cover sheet required by § 3.28 seeking to record a joint research agreement or an excerpt of a joint research agreement as provided by § 3.11(c) must:

(1) Identify the document as a “joint research agreement” (in the space provided for the description of the interest conveyed or transaction to be recorded if using an Office -provided form);

(2) Indicate the name of the owner of the application or patent (in the space provided for the name and address of the party receiving the interest if using an Office -provided form);

(3) Indicate the name of each other party to the joint research agreement party (in the space provided for the name of the party conveying the interest if using an Office -provided form); and

(4) Indicate the date the joint research agreement was executed.

(h) The assignment cover sheet required by § 3.28 for a patent application or patent will be satisfied by the Patent Law Treaty Model International Request for Recordation of Change in Applicant or Owner Form, Patent Law Treaty Model International Request for Recordation of a License/Cancellation of the Recordation of a License Form, Patent Law Treaty Model Certificate of Transfer Form or Patent Law Treaty Model International Request for Recordation of a Security Interest/Cancellation of the Recordation of a Security Interest Form, as applicable, except where the assignment is also an oath or declaration under § 1.63 of this chapter. An assignment cover sheet required by § 3.28 must contain a conspicuous indication of an intent to utilize the assignment as an oath or declaration under § 1.63 of this chapter.

• Regulations All Titles
• title 37 Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights
• chapter I CHAPTER I—UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• part 3 PART 3—ASSIGNMENT, RECORDING AND RIGHTS OF ASSIGNEE
• subjgrp 147 Cover Sheet Requirements
• § 3.31 Cover sheet content.

View all text of Subjgrp 147 [§ 3.31 - § 3.34]

§ 3.31 - Cover sheet content.

AUTHORITY: 15 U.S.C. 1123 ; 35 U.S.C. 2 (b)(2).

SOURCE: 57 FR 29642, July 6, 1992, unless otherwise noted.

CITE AS: 37 CFR 3.31

The Federal Register

The daily journal of the united states government, request access.

Due to aggressive automated scraping of FederalRegister.gov and eCFR.gov, programmatic access to these sites is limited to access to our extensive developer APIs.

If you are human user receiving this message, we can add your IP address to a set of IPs that can access FederalRegister.gov & eCFR.gov; complete the CAPTCHA (bot test) below and click "Request Access". This process will be necessary for each IP address you wish to access the site from, requests are valid for approximately one quarter (three months) after which the process may need to be repeated.

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