Applicant Eligibility

Who can file an application

Any person or legal entity that uses, or genuinely intends to use, the mark in commerce that the United States Congress can regulate may apply. That includes individuals and sole proprietors, partnerships, LLCs, corporations, nonprofits and foreign entities. The USPTO is not screening your citizenship or your company size. It is checking that the owner named on the application is the party that owns the mark and that your stated basis is accurate.

Getting the owner name right

• A sole founder files as an individual, under their legal name, if they personally own the brand.
• An LLC or corporation files as the entity. If the entity did not exist when use began, the mark needs to be assigned to it before or at filing.
• Two people who co-own a brand should file as a partnership or as joint individuals, not as one person holding the mark on both their behalves.
• If a holding company will own the mark and license it to the operating company, document that structure with a written license before you file.
• Use the legal name on the formation documents, and keep it consistent across the application, the assignment and any later filings.

The US-licensed attorney rule

Applicants whose domicile, principal place of business, or place of entity formation is outside the United States and its territories must be represented by an attorney licensed to practice law in the United States. That attorney must be of record on the application and must sign filings such as responses to Office Actions. US-domiciled applicants may file on their own behalf, but they still must name an individual with legal authority to bind the applicant, provide a correspondence address, and keep it current.

Filing basis: the part that sinks applications

Every application must state a filing basis, and it must be true for each class you claim. Section 1(a) covers marks already used in commerce, Section 1(b) covers a bona fide intention to use, Section 44 relies on a foreign registration or application, and Section 66 is a request to extend protection of an international Madrid Protocol registration into the United States. Declaring a basis that is not true is a false statement in a sworn federal filing, which is a far more serious problem than a simple refusal.

The minimum an application must contain

1. The name, entity type and address of the owner, matching the party that will actually use the mark.
2. A clear drawing of the mark, or the wording itself if you are filing a standard-character word mark.
3. An identification of the goods or services, sorted by international class, in wording the USPTO accepts.
4. A filing basis that is accurate for every class in the application.
5. The base fee of $350 per class, paid at filing through Trademark Center.
6. For any use-based class, a specimen showing the mark in use with those goods or services.

Can I file if I have not started selling yet?

Yes, under Section 1(b) intent to use. You are swearing to a bona fide intention, not a vague hope, so have something real behind it: a manufacturer quote, a signed lease, a launch plan. The application will not register until you file a Statement of Use.

I am not a U.S. citizen but I live in the U.S. Can I file on my own?

Domicile is what matters, not citizenship. If your domicile and principal place of business are in the United States, you may file pro se. If either sits abroad, you must be represented by a US-licensed attorney.

Should the LLC own the trademark or should I personally?

Usually the entity that operates the business and carries the liability. If you file personally and then bring in investors, they will ask for the mark to be assigned into the company, and mid-examination transfers cause delays and documentary headaches.

Can two unrelated companies co-own one application?

Not in the way most people expect. Joint owners hold the mark together and each can generally license it without accounting to the other, which is a governance mess. Better to have one entity own it and grant a written license.

Do I need a U.S. address to file?

You need a correspondence address of record, and it must be kept current. Foreign-domiciled applicants route correspondence through their US-licensed attorney, whose address serves that role.

• Apply for a trademark | USPTO
• Base application requirements | USPTO
• 15 U.S.C. 1051, Application for registration | Cornell LII