Back to Trademark ownership

Can I register a trademark if my company is not yet in business?

Written by Jan Buza

Co-founder of Trama

Yes, you can apply for a trademark and own it as an individual even before your company is incorporated. It’s a pretty common approach that applicants use to secure trademark rights during the startup phase without waiting for the business to be formally established.

Once the company is up and running, you can transfer ownership of the trademark to it through a trademark assignment or enter into a license agreement between yourself as the owner and the company as the commercial user.

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How long does it take to register a trademark?

We have looked into the last 1,000 trademarks registered in main intellectual property offices, including USPTO (United States), UKIPO (United Kingdom), EUIPO (European Union), CNIPA (China), CIPO (Canada), ROSPATENT (Russia), IPA (Australia), BOIP (Benelux), IGE-IPI (Switzerland), NIPO (Norway), KIPO (Republic of Korea), and CGPDTM (India), exploring the average time it takes for a trademark to be registered in the selected jurisdictions.

Can you change your trademark over time?

Brands tend to evolve and undergo numerous changes over time. Many companies have changed their names to cater to a larger audience, either by altering their original logos for a more modern look or abandoning controversial words in their slogans. As the company expands beyond its planned offerings of goods and services or decides to take a different direction altogether, usually what follows are certain changes or even complete rebranding. A common question is then: can trademarks change over time? Well, it depends.