I am the co-admin of a small sports forum and we just got a logo created for our site. We want to start putting it on t-shirts to raise money for site costs/upgrades and I'm thinking it might be worth it to get it trademarked. My question is, after doing some preliminary research it looks like the application needs to be filed as either an individual or a business entity. Since I don't want the trademark tied to my name in the case that I disassociate myself from the site at some point in the future, is there a way to file it under the site's name? That way, regardless if me and/or my co-admin leave, the trademark will remain with the site. I realize that there are a few business entities that could serve this purpose (LLC, etc) but it seems a little extreme to form one just to sell a few t-shirts. Thanks in advance.
Just by using the logo in connection with the sale of goods or services you have a common law trademark. If you file for a registered trademark, then it would need to be filed in a person or business entities name. I would not so much worry about getting it in you name, as you can easy transfer your right to the mark just as easily as you can sell the site itself. I would question whether you need to get it registered at all. It is always something you can do later. Your rights to the mark begin once you start using it in commerce.
A Trademark is a brandname.A tradermark include name,symbol,word,device or any combination used or intented to identify and distinguish one's good and services of one seller from other.