Trademarks

The following is not legal advice and should not be relied upon to take or refrain from taking any action.

First, trademark laws differ dramatically throughout the world. To address your question someone will have to evaluate the trademark ownership rules in each country where you have chosen to seek trademark protection. Playing in the international business arena requires very expensive country-specific legal advice.

Second, your question tells me that you are being too cute by far in your business arrangements. You're mixing up terminology and improperly using other terms. What I think you mean by your question is that you are the sole owner of Company A. Company A owns a 67% interest in Company B. Company B has applied to register certain trademarks in various countries. Company B has also done something that you believe grants you some sort of interest in whatever trademark rights are owned by Company B. I have no idea what kind of arrangement that is: quit claim? / license? / assignment? "Deed of Trust" just doesn't fit. MAYBE Company B has executed a document that memorializes its intention that if all the owners of the company pass away then its trademark rights are to be transferred to Company A (or to you personally?). And, in the meantime, you want to know whether you (or Company A?) owns the trademark applications (or trademark rights?) that Company B has filed.

If you intend to do business in such a convoluted manner then you need to have your business attorney on speed dial -- but because you've asked this question in this venue I suspect that you do not. That's a big mistake. Either your company has the financial resources to play in the international business arena or it doesn't. I suggest that you focus on building the best company you can here in the US and when you're ready to expand internationally you do so one country at a time and with proper legal guidance.

FYI --- the general rule in the US is that trademark rights do not exist until the trademark is actually used in commerce by branding a product or service with the mark and then offering the product or service for sale. An mere application to register a mark provides NO trademark rights. An "intent to use" application to register a trademark may be filed by a person, or company, if that person can honestly declare under penalty or perjury that he or she has a good faith intent to use the mark in commerce. Again, however, no trademark rights exist -- and so there is nothing to register -- until the mark is used in commerce. This rule applies in some countries but NOT in others.