Dogecoin Foundation ends exclusive House of Doge trademark license

The Dogecoin Foundation and House of Doge terminated their exclusive trademark license by mutual agreement, effective Oct. 19, 2026. The Nasdaq-listed parent, House of Doge Inc. (HODO), and its subsidiary House of Doge (U.S.) Inc. each agreed to change their corporate names and stop using the DOGECOIN and DOGE marks in those names before Dec. 31, 2026, the company said in an 8-K filed Oct. 23.

The terminated agreement was an amended and restated trademark license dated May 7, 2025. Under the termination agreement the parties signed, all exclusivity, sublicense and partnership-designation rights, plus board representation rights, ended on Oct. 19. Both companies also agreed to drop any reference to being the Foundation's "Official Corporate Arm" or "Official Commercial Partner."

House of Doge (U.S.) Inc. owes the Foundation $400,000 as consideration for the termination. The payment is due when sufficient funds are available to the subsidiary, and it can be settled in cash, in parent-company shares priced at a five-day volume-weighted average, or in a mix of both. Receipt of the full amount settles royalty and other payment obligations under the old license, while accrued payment claims stay outstanding until then. The syndicated copy of The Defiant's report notes that House of Doge has not said when sufficient funds would be available.

A narrower replacement license took effect the same day. The non-exclusive agreement lets the subsidiary use the DOGECOIN and DOGE marks only for three existing 21Shares products, the Dogecoin ETF (TDOG), the 21Shares Dogecoin ETP (DOGE) and the 2x Long Dogecoin ETF (TXXD), as those products existed on Oct. 19, plus any regulated or tokenized investment product the Foundation approves in writing. The license grants no exclusivity and no official-partner status, and it does not permit use of the marks for the company's corporate name, general merchandise or payment products. Its initial term runs three years, ending Oct. 19, 2029, with no automatic renewal.

The 8-K adds a condition tied to the money: if the $400,000 termination payment stays unpaid ten business days after notice, that failure counts as a material breach of the new license and lets the Foundation terminate it. For new licensed products other than the three 21Shares funds, the two sides will negotiate a share of net revenue product by product, with no minimum royalty or upfront fee. Outside those products, the subsidiary may not sublicense or assign its rights without the Foundation's written consent, and the Foundation remains free to license the same marks to other parties. The new agreement is governed by Texas law.

The termination agreement also records a sublicense of the marks that the subsidiary granted under an April 4, 2025 support services agreement with 21Shares US LLC and 21Shares AG, along with a related encumbrance under a secured short-term demand note issued to Garrington Financial Corp. The four parties exchanged mutual releases covering claims under the old license, leaving only the payment obligation and a few surviving provisions in place.

The same filing describes what happens to Such App. The subsidiary agreed to transfer the mobile payment application's software, source code, domains, cloud accounts and app-store listings to ABJ Labs Inc., which does business as Dogecoin Labs, in exchange for shares with an agreed value of $4,000,000 based on a $120 million fully diluted pre-money valuation. Dogecoin Labs takes no contracts or liabilities with the assets. The transaction had not closed as of the filing, and closing requires written consents and lien releases from the secured lenders, transfer of the key assets and the absence of an insolvency event. Either side can walk away if closing has not happened by the outside date, which the asset transfer agreement sets at thirty calendar days after Oct. 19.

TokenPost reported that the Foundation keeps its stewardship, open-source support, advocacy and community work while Dogecoin Labs brings together MyDoge, DogeOS and Such App, and that House of Doge holds an equity stake in Labs through the pending transfer.

House of Doge identified Dogecoin Labs as the Foundation's new official commercial partner, and the same report said the Oct. 21 launch announcement described a company led by chief executive Jordan Jefferson that brings together the MyDoge wallet, the DogeOS application platform and Such App. The transfer of Such App itself still has to close. Both House of Doge entities must complete their name changes before Dec. 31, 2026.