Back to Trademark registration process

Does my company need to be fully registered before I apply for a trademark?

Founder & Trademark Attorney

No. You can file a trademark application as an individual before your company is incorporated. Once the company is established, ownership of the trademark can be transferred to it through a trademark assignment.

In the US, if the mark has not yet been used in commerce, the application must be filed as intent-to-use, which is available to both individuals and companies regardless of incorporation status.

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Stories of our clients: Sl'eau

“Testing how the garment fits, testing how comfortable it is to wear and testing how well the fabric holds up in the long term are all things that Shein and the like skip to churn out clothes at the rate that they do. Sweatshops and slave labour allow them to sell the garments for the prices that they do. We do things differently” Read the full story of Vanessa Jones, the founder of Sl’eau, another inspiring brand protected by Trama that brings quality and craftsmanship back to the fashion industry.

13 good reasons why startups should think about trademark registration from the very start

Approximately 100 million new businesses are established each year [1]. The failure rate of startups is around 90% [2] and while there is a myriad of factors that influence startup success, we do believe that effective brand protection represents one of them. This article thereby presents a concise summary of 13 good reasons why startups should think about trademark registration from the very start.

Answering all your trademark concerns

Many entrepreneurs still consider trademark registration to be the least important step in the process of establishing their brand. This can become a big issue. Not registering a trademark from the start leaves a company vulnerable to potential copycats and other forms of brand infringement that can significantly damage its reputation and hamper growth.