A portfolio should reflect the business you actually run.
DBA brings trademark work together with business transactions and commercial litigation. We help organize the brands you own, identify priorities, and connect protection decisions with expansion, licensing, and ownership changes.
EXPLORE THE PROCESS
What is changing in your business?
Explore a planning path. The scope and sequence are tailored to the actual portfolio.
Launching or adding brands
01INVENTORYMap the names and assets
List house brands, product names, logos, domains, applications, and registrations. Identify which entity owns each asset.
02PRIORITIZERank commercial importance
Consider revenue, launch timing, customer recognition, markets, and the consequences of a naming conflict.
03PLANSet filing and review priorities
Discuss clearance, appropriate applications, and a budget. Distinguish existing use from future plans.
Expanding or licensing
01REVIEWCompare registrations with actual use
Identify new goods, services, markets, or brand variations that need attention.
02COORDINATEConnect trademark and contract work
Review licensing arrangements, ownership, and brand-use expectations with the broader business plan.
03MAINTAINCreate a recurring review rhythm
Assign responsibility for new launches, evidence of use, deadlines, and potential conflicts.
Buying, selling, or restructuring
01DILIGENCEReconcile the ownership record
Compare USPTO records, entity names, assignments, and transaction documents. Investigate gaps before closing.
02STRUCTUREReview transfer constraints
Intent-to-use applications have special assignment restrictions. Madrid ownership changes go through WIPO. Have counsel review the proposed transfer.
03CLOSE & VERIFYDocument and record the change
Complete appropriate agreements and recordations, then verify the updated records and correspondence details.
Bring these to the conversation
- A list of marks, applications, and registrations
- Ownership and licensing agreements
- Upcoming launches, deals, or expansion plans
- Existing deadlines and any disputed marks
Questions worth asking
Does a company name change update the trademark record automatically?
Do not assume it does. Review the record and use the appropriate process for a name change or assignment.
Can every pending application be assigned freely?
No. Intent-to-use applications can be subject to restrictions. Obtain advice before transferring them.
Is this included in the registration flat fee?
Broader portfolio, licensing, diligence, and transaction work is scoped separately. The registration package addresses the stated search and application work.
Should I register my business name, my logo, or both?
A standard-character application focuses on wording without limiting it to one particular font or design. A special-form application covers the mark as depicted. A combined logo filing is not automatically equivalent to separately protecting its wording and design. The right filing sequence depends on how customers encounter your brand and what you can budget.
Who should be named as the trademark applicant?
Identify the actual owner before filing. The right applicant may be an individual or a legal entity, depending on who owns and uses the mark or holds the required intent to use it. Do not assume that a founder, parent company or newly formed LLC is interchangeable with another entity. Bring formation documents and any ownership or license agreements to the consultation.
How does DBA charge for trademark portfolio management?
Portfolio management is billed at our current hourly rates. That includes separately scoped reviews of multiple marks, ownership records, renewal planning, brand expansion and transaction-related trademark issues. Contact us with the list of marks, registration numbers and business priorities so we can define the work. This is outside the $2,700 single-mark application package.
What happens to trademarks when a business is sold or reorganized?
Review the transaction documents and trademark records together. An ownership transfer and a change in the same owner’s legal name are different events. Appropriate documents may need to be recorded through USPTO Assignment Center, and the application or registration record should be checked afterward. Transaction and portfolio work is billed at current hourly rates.
Does a U.S. trademark registration protect me overseas?
Not automatically. Trademark protection is territorial. WIPO’s Madrid System can simplify seeking protection in designated member jurisdictions, but each designated office applies its own law and may refuse protection. Plan around where the business will sell, manufacture or license the brand. International strategy and portfolio analysis are hourly; contact us about the appropriate filing scope.