Back to Trademark ownership

We have multiple partners to be listed as joint owners of the trademark. Is this possible?

Written by Jan Buza

Co-founder of Trama

Yes. Trademarks can have multiple joint owners. All are listed on the registration, and rights and responsibilities are shared equally unless there’s an ownership agreement in place that specifies otherwise.

In such an arrangement, a joint ownership agreement between all parties is essential. This helps partners clarify how enforcement decisions are made, how costs are shared, what happens if a partner wants to exit, and how the trademark can be transferred or licensed to other parties. These terms are not governed by the IP office and must be agreed to contractually.

Related questions

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.

Trademark Registration: DIY vs Professional Service

Filing for trademark registration is something anybody can do with a single online application. Many business owners, however, decide to wait with trademark registration because the process can appear quite complicated at first sight. Applying without a legal representative can be a difficult and time-consuming process. Mistakes and errors are easy to make and can lead to weak trademark protection or the rejection of your trademark registration altogether.