Registering a trademark when your company has not yet been created

Many applicants want to protect their trademark even before they set up their company. This is often a good reflex because, given the difficulty of finding an available trademark, it is preferable to file the trademark as early as possible. However, since the company has not yet been created, it cannot be the owner of the trademark. You therefore have two options:

• the deposit in the name and on behalf of the company being formed. This solution is interesting when the creation of your company is imminent. Concretely, the holder will be "Mr. XYZ, in the name and on behalf of the company ABC in the process of formation".
• the deposit in the name of the depositor, a natural person.

What are the consequences of each solution? In both cases, it will be necessary to regularize the situation by registering with the INPI, but the procedure is different and so are the costs.

• In the case of a registration in the name of the company being formed, an explanatory letter, a K-Bis extract, and a PV of the general meeting will be required, confirming that the trademark registration has been taken over by the company. This registration is free of charge.
• In case of filing in your own name, it is then preferable to transfer the ownership of the trademark to your company. It is indeed your company that will exploit it, which will make it easier to prove usageand to value it as a corporate asset. It will be necessary to draw up a transfer contract (which meets a certain formalism), and then register it with the INPI. This registration costs 27 euros. Find out more about brand transfer.

Our advice If possible, choose the deposit in the name and on behalf of the company being formed, as the adjustment is then free of charge.