Legal Definitions - anti-assignment-in-gross rule

The anti-assignment-in-gross rule is a legal doctrine that states that an assignment of a trademark without the goodwill associated with it is invalid. This means that if a company transfers its trademark to another party without transferring the business's goodwill, the assignment is not legally valid.

For example, if a company sells its trademark to another party but does not transfer the business's goodwill, the assignment is not valid. This is because the trademark is only valuable when it is associated with the goodwill of the business.

It is important to note that trademark rights are not destroyed when a mark is assigned in gross. However, if the assignor fails to continue using the mark and the transfer is ineffective, it may result in abandonment of the trademark.

Overall, the anti-assignment-in-gross rule ensures that trademarks are only transferred with the goodwill of the business, which is necessary for the trademark to have value.