501.05 Assignee Stands in Place of Applicant or Registrant
15 U.S.C. §1127 (Extract)
The terms "applicant" and "registrant" embrace the legal representatives, predecessors, successors and assigns of such applicant or registrant.
37 C.F.R. §3.71(d) Trademarks.
The assignee of a trademark application or registration may prosecute a trademark application, submit documents to maintain a trademark registration, or file papers against a third party in reliance on the assignee's trademark application or registration, to the exclusion of the original applicant or previous assignee. The assignee must establish ownership in compliance with § 3.73(b).
An assignee, like an applicant, must be a natural or juristic person. See 15 U.S.C. §1127 and TMEP §803.