Can I own a trademark personally for a company I own shares in?

[May2007]

Washington state

I am one of six founders and an owner in a company. I've wanted to trademark the name and logo for a while but we haven't done it.

Coincidentally, there's also a small amount of friction amongst the owners (as there is when the company starts making money).

I'm considering trademarking the name and logo myself and owning it myself. Is this okay? The company is a corporation owned by multiple LLC's. Each separate LLC is 100% owned by partner and the ownership of the main company is divided by shares given to each LLC.

If I do trademark the business name and logo, should I put it under my LLC or my personal name?

 

[divgradcurl]

If the company has been using the name and logo to identify its products or services, it has already acquired rights to the name and logo. Trademark rights arise through consistent use of the name and logo in commerce, not through registration. If the company is in fact incorporated, then it is a separate legal entity from any of the shareholders, and it likely owns the trademark rights to its own name and logo.