Ownership

Ownership

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Assignments and Ownerships Changes^[1]Some of the material for this section is taken from the USPTO, “Trademark assignments: change & search ownership,” available at … Continue reading

Recording an assignment online

To record an assignment or name change, the owner must file a Recordation Form Cover Sheet along with a copy of the actual assignment.   A name change does not require that the filer submit proof of name change. Requests to record documents in the Assignment Recordation Branch can be filed through the Electronic Trademark Assignment System (ETAS) at http://etas.uspto.gov. Locate the current fee schedule at How to Pay Fees to determine the current fee for assignment recordation (Trademark Services Fee Code 8521).

Review process for recording documents

When you file your document electronically with the Assignment Recordation Branch, you will receive an electronic confirmation of the filing. Before the document is recorded, an assignment specialist reviews it to make sure the information on the cover sheet does not contain any typographical errors and is consistent with the information in the underlying document. This review helps avoid recording a document with typographical errors, which can only be corrected through recording a new corrective document and paying additional fees. If we find an error in your filing, we may contact you to correct it before we record your filing. The time frame for recording documents is between 30 to 40 days, though we are actively working to reduce it.

PLEASE NOTE: If you make an error in the online assignment submission, contact the Assignment Recordation Branch immediately by telephone at 571-272-3350 from 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. They may be able to suspend the recordation. The recordation will be suspended for two days to allow time for submission of a written letter requesting that the recordation be cancelled and that a refund be issued. However, if the assignment has been recorded, it cannot be cancelled. You must follow the procedures outlined in the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) Section 503.06 to make any corrections to the assignment.

Recording an assignment by paper

The form for this purpose is # PTO-TM-1594 (Recordation Form Cover Sheet ). Paper documents and cover sheets to be recorded in the Assignment Recordation Branch should be sent to:

Mail Stop Assignment Recordation Branch

Director of the US Patent and Trademark Office

PO Box 1450

Alexandria, VA 22313-1450

Generally, paper filed assignments are recorded within 30 to 40 days of filing.

Updating ownership information in Trademark Status and Document Retrieval

If the assignment is of the type that can automatically update the Trademark database, the Trademark records will be updated within approximately one week after the date of recordation.

However, not all recorded assignments will automatically update the trademark ownership records. The most common reasons why the ownership records does not auto update is either because (1) the conveyance type is not one of the unique six that allows for automatic updates: assignment, nunc pro tunc assignment, merger, or change of name, combined merger and change of name and entity conversion or (2) because the application is in a black-out period, which prevents automatic updates to the records. Please review the criteria for automatically updating the Trademark database (TSDR), as outlined in TMEP §504.

After receiving your recordation notice, please wait at least one week before checking TSDR to see if the ownership information has been automatically updated. Go to Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR), enter the serial number, and click on the Status button. Scroll down to the “Current Owner(s) Information.” If the change in the owner has not been entered, go to the “Prosecution History” and look to see if there is an entry that says “Ownership records not automatically updated.” If the records were not automatically updated, you must notify the Trademark Operation in writing so that the records can be manually updated.

If the application has not been published for opposition, you may submit the request to update the owner name using the TEAS Voluntary Amendment form. If it is after publication, you may submit the request using the TEAS Post-Publication Amendment form. If it is more than four weeks after publication, it will be too late to update the record prior to registration and you will have to submit a request for correction pursuant to Trademark Act Section 7 after the mark registers.