Can You Transfer a Registered Trademark?

Yes, you can transfer a registered trademark. This happens frequently in M&A deals structured as mergers or asset sales. Whatever the reason behind the need to change the owner, yes, you can transfer a trademark.

To do this, you will need to request a transfer using the USPTO’s Assignment Center. If you don’t already have a USPTO.gov account, you will need to create one (it’s free) to sign in to the Assignment Center.

The USPTO’s Assignment Center will walk you through the transfer process. You will need to fill in information about what type of transfer it is (nunc pro tunc, merger, corrective assignment, etc.), information identifying the conveying and receiving parties, and information regarding which “properties” are being transferred. For these purposes, the term “properties” means which trademarks are being transferred. You will use the relevant registration number(s) to identify the trademark(s) being transferred.

You will also need to upload any supporting documents required by the USPTO. This may include identification documents and a Trademark Assignment or other similar document evidencing the transfer. The USPTO provides a free form Trademark Assignment. If you are transferring the trademark in connection with a merger or asset sale, you should ask your M&A attorney which document you should file because your attorney may have already prepared a transfer document as part of the M&A deal.

Once you have completed, reviewed, and submitted the application, including paying the application fees, you can track the status of your submission on the “my submission status” page in the Assignment Center.

If you have any questions or if you would like an attorney to assist you with the trademark transfer process, you can contact attorney Chris Batts at cbatts@shuffieldlowman.com.