Yes, an LLC can own a trademark. The USPTO treats a limited liability company the same as any other legal entity that can hold property, and for most small businesses the LLC should be the owner of the mark rather than any individual member. The governing principle is simple: whoever controls the quality of the goods or services sold under the brand is the rightful owner. If the LLC is the operating business, the LLC owns the mark.
Why the LLC Should Own the Mark, Not You
The core reason to put the trademark inside the LLC is the liability shield. When the LLC owns the mark, a lawsuit involving that mark stays within the LLC’s assets. Your house, savings, and personal accounts sit on the other side of the wall. When an individual owns the mark personally, that protection disappears, and an infringement claim or business dispute tied to the mark can reach personal property directly.
The shield runs in the other direction too. An LLC’s property, including its trademarks, generally cannot be seized by the personal creditors of a member. In most states, a personal creditor’s only remedy is a charging order, which redirects any distributions the LLC would have paid that member. The creditor cannot force a sale of LLC assets, cannot run the business, and cannot take the trademark itself.
LLC ownership also makes the eventual sale of the business cleaner. A buyer acquires the LLC and gets the mark with it, rather than negotiating a separate transfer of a personally held asset.
Your LLC Name Is Not Automatically a Trademark
Registering an LLC with a state does not give you trademark rights. A trade name is what your business is called for state law purposes; a trademark identifies the source of specific goods or services and distinguishes them from competitors.1United States Patent and Trademark Office. How Trademarks and Trade Names Differ
Your LLC name can also function as a trademark if you use it to brand your goods or services, but the state filing alone does not create trademark rights. State registration lets you legally operate under the name within that state. It does not stop a business in another state from using the same name, and it gives you no federal protection. Nationwide rights require a federal registration through the USPTO.1United States Patent and Trademark Office. How Trademarks and Trade Names Differ
Getting the Owner Right on the Application
Filing under the wrong owner is one of the most damaging mistakes a small business can make. If a member files the application in their personal name when the LLC is actually the entity using the mark in commerce, the registration can be challenged and potentially invalidated. Federal law imposes civil liability on anyone who obtains a trademark registration through a false or fraudulent declaration.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1120 – Civil Liability for False or Fraudulent Registration
Ask the quality-control question and answer honestly. If the LLC is the operating business selling the goods or providing the services, the LLC is the owner. If a sole proprietor started using the mark before forming the LLC, the individual was the original owner and needs to formally transfer the mark to the LLC after formation. A competitor can use an incorrect ownership declaration to attack the validity of the entire registration.
How the LLC Files
Applications go through the USPTO’s Trademark Center portal, which replaced the older TEAS system.3United States Patent and Trademark Office. Transitioning from TEAS to Filing in Trademark Center You create a verified account, complete the electronic form, upload your mark drawing and specimen, and pay the filing fee. The base fee is $350 per class of goods or services, so an LLC selling products in two international classes pays $350 for each.4United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Fee Information
Before you start, gather the information the application will ask for:
- The exact LLC legal name as filed with your state of formation. Small discrepancies with your formation documents can cause problems.
- A domicile address, meaning the principal place of business where the company’s leadership directs operations. Every applicant must give the USPTO a domicile address, though a separate mailing address can be used for the public record if you want to keep the domicile private.5United States Patent and Trademark Office. Personal Information in Trademark Records
- Entity type and state of formation. You identify the applicant as a “limited liability company” and name the organizing state.6United States Patent and Trademark Office. Base Application Requirements
- The name and title of an authorized signer, typically a managing member or authorized officer.6United States Patent and Trademark Office. Base Application Requirements
- A description of the goods or services, selected from the USPTO’s standardized ID Manual.
- A drawing of the mark. A standard character drawing covers a word mark in plain text; a special form drawing is required if the mark includes stylization, a logo, colors, or a graphic.7United States Patent and Trademark Office. Drawing of Your Trademark
- A specimen showing how the mark actually appears in commerce. For goods, a photo of the mark on packaging or a product label. For services, a screenshot of your website that includes the URL and the date accessed.8United States Patent and Trademark Office. Drawings and Specimens as Application Requirements
Use in Commerce or Intent to Use
You must pick a filing basis. If the LLC is already selling goods or providing services under the mark, you file under Section 1(a) with a “use in commerce” basis and submit your specimen with the application.
If the LLC has not yet launched under the mark but plans to, you file under Section 1(b) as an intent-to-use application. This holds your place in line while you prepare. Before the USPTO will actually register the mark, you must file a Statement of Use proving actual use, along with an additional fee per class. You have six months from the Notice of Allowance to file that statement, with up to five six-month extensions available, for a maximum of 36 months. Missing the deadline abandons the application, and the USPTO does not refund filing fees.9United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Applications – Intent-to-Use (ITU) Basis
What Happens After You File
The USPTO assigns a serial number and an examining attorney, who searches for conflicting marks, checks that your mark meets legal requirements, and confirms your goods and services are properly classified. If the attorney finds problems, you receive an office action with a deadline to respond; no response means abandonment. If the attorney approves the mark, it is published in the Official Gazette, giving third parties 30 days to oppose. Without opposition, a use-in-commerce application proceeds to registration and an intent-to-use application proceeds to a Notice of Allowance.10United States Patent and Trademark Office. Examination of Your Application Average time from filing to final disposition runs around 10 months.11United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Processing Wait Times
Moving a Personally Held Mark Into Your LLC
If you used the mark as an individual before forming the LLC, you need to formally transfer it. Skipping this step leaves the mark outside the liability shield and creates a mismatch between the record owner and the entity actually using the mark in business.
The transfer document is a trademark assignment agreement. It conveys all rights and interest in the mark from the individual to the LLC. Federal law requires that any trademark assignment include the goodwill of the business connected with the mark.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1060 – Assignment A transfer without the associated goodwill is called an assignment in gross and is invalid. You are not just moving a name or a logo; you are moving the reputation and customer relationships that the mark represents.
After signing the assignment, record it with the USPTO through the Assignment Center by submitting a cover sheet and paying the recording fee.13United States Patent and Trademark Office. USPTO Trademark Assignments and Ownership Changes Recording is not required for the assignment to be valid between you and the LLC, but it creates a public record and protects the LLC against later claims by third parties who would otherwise have no notice of the transfer.
Keeping the Registration Alive
Registration is not a one-time event. Between the fifth and sixth anniversaries of registration, the LLC must file a Section 8 Declaration of Continued Use, with a current specimen and a fee of $325 per class. A six-month grace period after the sixth anniversary is available for an extra $100 per class. Missing the Section 8 filing cancels the registration.14United States Patent and Trademark Office. Registration Maintenance/Renewal/Correction Forms
After that, both a Section 8 declaration and a Section 9 renewal application are due between the ninth and tenth anniversaries, and again every ten years. The Section 9 renewal also costs $325 per class when filed electronically.15United States Patent and Trademark Office. USPTO Fee Schedule These deadlines are firm. If the LLC dissolves or its management changes, someone still has to track these dates or the mark lapses.
When an Attorney Is Required
If the LLC is domiciled in the United States, the USPTO does not require attorney representation. A managing member or authorized officer can file directly. Examination involves judgment calls about likelihood of confusion, descriptiveness, and classification that regularly trip up first-time filers, so many LLCs still choose to hire counsel, but it is not mandatory.
If the LLC’s principal place of business is outside the United States, attorney representation is mandatory. The USPTO requires all foreign-domiciled applicants to use a U.S.-licensed attorney at every stage, from the initial application through post-registration maintenance.16United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Rule Requires Foreign Applicants and Registrants to Have US-Licensed Attorney