A brand lasts when a company is sold, merged or internally restructured to another legal entity. For that transfer, you need three things: a transfer deed stating which brand is being transferred and between whom, the company details of the new trademark owner including the Chamber of Commerce number, and the form to register the change with BOIP or EUIPO. Without that last step, the old owner is still in the register, regardless of what has been agreed privately.
That last point is exactly the detail that matters most about this topic. A transfer is often valid under civil law as soon as both parties sign, but only what is in the public record matters to third parties. Anyone who buys the trademark and leaves the registration behind runs the risk that a seller who is still officially the trademark owner may still exercise rights, licenses or even sell the brand to a third party. This is just as relevant to the practice of monitoring and renewing: warnings about similar applications and the renewal reminder go to who is in the register, not to who actually uses the brand.
What changes when a brand changes hands
Trademark registration is a right that is separate from the company that once applied for it. The brand can be sold, incorporated into another company, or transferred in the event of a merger without changing the underlying products or services. What does change is the name of the legal person that is in the BOIP or EUIPO register as holder. That name determines who can oppose a competing brand, who can grant a license, and who must arrange the renewal after ten years.
The pieces you need
The transfer deed itself
The core is a document that clearly states which brand it concerns, the registration number, and between which two parties the transfer takes place. In the case of a business takeover, this is usually already included in the purchase agreement; in the case of internal restructuring, a separate, short deed is common. It is advisable to involve a lawyer, especially if the brand is part of a larger multi-asset transaction.
The details of the new trademark owner
BOIP and EUIPO register a legal person, not a separate email address. So you need the new holder's full company name, address and Chamber of Commerce number (or equivalent in another EU country). If this is missing, registration will be delayed or rejected.
The registration form with BOIP or EUIPO
Both registers have a separate form for making a change of holder, separate from the form for a new application. This includes a copy of the deed and, for some transfers, a tax paid directly to the office. This is a different step than filing a trademark application, and therefore also a different time than when the application itself is being prepared.
Why the registration detail weighs the hardest
The register is leading, not the mutual agreement. As long as the transfer is not registered, the original holder remains formally authorized to act on behalf of the trademark. For a buyer, this means that the period between the signature of the deed and the actual registration is a vulnerable moment: a competing application that is published in the meantime can only be contested by those who are officially registered as the holder at that time. Those who go through this process themselves would do well to arrange registration as soon as possible after signing, and in the meantime not to let surveillance stop.
What if the transfer isn't recorded
If the old holder remains registered while the mark has actually been sold, a mismatch arises that only comes to light at an awkward moment: during opposition proceedings, in a licence dispute, or simply at the next renewal, when the reminder goes to the wrong company. Marcai.eu guides you through the application and monitoring of a mark, but drawing up the assignment deed itself falls outside that process; a legal advisor is the right person for that. It is wise to check after an assignment whether the monitoring and renewal clock are in place with the correct new holder, which you will find in the explanation about how your mark's monitoring and data are maintained.
If you are facing an acquisition or internal restructuring and want to know first how your current mark appears in the register, you can check this free of charge with the quick scan that gives an indication in a few questions. If you are uncertain about the costs of the next steps, look at the overview of the service fee and monitoring, or read the other topics in the knowledge base for those who, like you, have half an hour and are looking for concrete answers.