Legal Definitions - naked assignment

A naked assignment is a transfer of a company's trademark separately from the goodwill of the business. It is also known as an assignment in gross. Courts often hold that such an assignment passes nothing of value to the transferee.

For example, if a company sells its trademark to another company without selling the business itself, the trademark may not have any value without the goodwill of the business. This means that the transferee may not have any rights to use the trademark.

Another example of a naked assignment is when a welfare recipient surrenders their rights to child support in favor of the state as a condition of receiving governmental financial assistance. In this case, the recipient gives up their right to receive child support payments, and the state takes over the responsibility of collecting the payments.

Overall, a naked assignment is a transfer of a property or right that may not have any value without other associated assets or rights.