A trademark is a type of intellectual property. A trademark also commonly known as a trademark, trade-mark or a mark. A trademark consists of a recognizable sign, design, or expression which identifies products or services of a particular company and helps in distinguishing the products from those of others. The symbols ® ‘the registered trademark symbol’ and ™ ‘the trademark symbol’ are generally used to indicate trademarks; the former is only for use by the owner of a trademark which is registered.
The trademark can be owned by:
-An individual,
-Business organization,
-Or any legal entity
When a trademark is registered, it confers an exclusive right to the owner to use the registered trademark. Thus it can be said that the trademark can be used by his owner exclusively, or it can be used by a person licensed for use in return of valid consideration.
Complete assignment
In this type of assignment, all the rights are completely transferred by the owner to the assignee.
The assignee has got all the rights including rights such right to further transfer and right to earn royalties.
Partial assignment
In this type, the assignment of the trademark is made to the assignee, but with respect to only some of the goods/ services, the transfer of ownership of the trademark is restricted to specific goods or services only. The rights are not transferred completely.
Assignment with goodwill
In this type of assignment, there is also a transfer of goodwill of the product with the trademark. In this, the valuation of goodwill is calculated differently in the agreement.
Assignment without goodwill
In this type of assignment, goodwill of the product is not transferred along with the assignment of the trademark; in this, the owner of the brand restricts the rights of the assignee and does not allow him to use such trademark of the brand for the products being used by the assignor. Such an assignment is also referred to as a gross assignment.
When can a Trademark be assigned?
A trademark can be assigned in the following situations
The Death of the Trademark Owner
Whenever the owner of the trademark i.e. the assignor dies, its ownership is passed on to the successors of the previous owners in a will or intestate. The condition is that the Trademark must be valid and should not have been abandoned by the previous owner.
Sale of Business
Intellectual properties are assets for the company, just like all properties, even the trademark can be sold with the company. Provided it is registered under the company’s name. If a party acquires trademark rights of a company by acquiring a business with regard to the sale of assets of the company, the intellectual properties are also said to be transferred.
Change of the owner of businesses
When two companies decide on having a merger or an amalgamation of the company, a notification is sent to the registry. All the intellectual property of the acquired company are transferred to the new owner through the trademark assignment agreement between the parties.
Change in Form of Business
Whenever a business plan on changing its form of business or its business structure an assignment is a boon for those businesses.
If you are looking for an experienced trademark attorneys in Vietnam to help you with your trademark application, you should visit ANT Lawyers.vn. Our attorneys have experience with the trademark process and will work closely with you as you apply for your trademark.
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