1201.05 Acceptable Claim of Ownership Based on Applicant’s Own Use
An applicant’s claim of ownership of a mark may be based on the applicant’s own use of the mark, even though there is also use by a related company. The applicant is the owner by virtue of the applicant’s own use, and the application does not have to refer to use by a related company.
An applicant may claim ownership of a mark when the mark is applied on the applicant’s instruction. For example, if the applicant contracts with another party to have goods produced for the applicant and instructs the party to place the mark on the goods, that is considered the equivalent of the applicant itself placing the mark on its own goods and reference to related-company use is not necessary.