Death, Taxes, And Goodwill

Goodwill is a concept near and dear to trademark law. After all, trademarks symbolize the goodwill of the business with which they are associated. Goodwill is an intangible asset that contributes to a trademark owner’s overall worth. In the U.S., an assignment that purports to transfer trademark rights without the accompanying goodwill is considered an "assignment in gross" and is invalid.

Merriam Webster defines goodwill as a "friendly feeling or attitude" or the value that "a company's good reputation adds to its overall value."

On an unrelated note, did you know that the Internal Revenue Service owns a federal registration for the mark IRS (Reg. No. 3,849,330)? It is a standard character mark with no design.