OWLU® is now a federally registered U.S. trademark.
The OWLU prefix stenciled on One Way Lease containers has been our identity for decades. On May 19, 2026, the United States Patent and Trademark Office made it official. USPTO Reg. No. 8,259,018.
Anatomy of an OWLU container number
Every ISO container carries an 11-character identifier painted in block stencil on both door panels and on at least one side. Here’s an OWLU container broken apart:
What is OWLU?
OWLU is our primary BIC code — a four-letter owner prefix that identifies containers in our fleet, worldwide. One Way Lease, Inc. also owns two additional BIC owner prefixes — ANYU and LSEU — registered to the same company. OWLU is the one covered by this trademark.
Combined with a six-digit serial and a check digit, the prefix forms the full container number defined by ISO 6346, the international rule that governs how every intermodal container on Earth is identified. The BIC code itself is issued by the Bureau International des Containers in Paris, which has maintained the official registry of container owners since 1933.
When you see OWLU on the side of a container, that container is part of our fleet — verifiable in a public registry, traceable across every port, terminal, and rail yard in the world.
What does the trademark add?
A BIC code identifies us. A trademark protects us — and by extension, you. For day-to-day operations nothing changes: same containers, same delivery, same service. What changes is the strength of the guarantee behind that four-letter stencil.
Not every company that sells or leases containers operates a fleet. Many are brokers, sourcing units from larger operators and reselling them. There’s nothing wrong with that model, but it’s a different relationship. A trademark on top of a BIC code is a further commitment — that we plan to be here, owning and operating containers under this name, for the long haul. We’ve been doing this since 1994. The OWLU registration is the latest step in making sure the name stays ours.
OWLU® — United States Patent and Trademark Office Registration No. 8,259,018. Owner: One Way Lease, Inc. Issue date: May 19, 2026.
How to verify an OWLU container
Two routes — one against the public BIC registry, one against our live inventory.
- BIC database. Every OWLU container is registered with the Bureau International des Containers. Search the prefix and you’ll find One Way Lease, Inc. listed as the registered owner. View the BIC record ↗.
- Live OWL inventory. Every available OWLU unit is published by type, grade, color, and depot. If you’ve been quoted a container you can confirm its specs before pickup. Open OWL Inventory.