Many of my clients have been on the receiving end of misleading notices from companies pretending to be the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). These letters often contain details of the client’s trademark; the registration number; when it was filed; and accurate predictions as to when the next renewal is or what its status is in terms of being reviewed. Upon further examination, though, it becomes clear that these companies are fraudulently reaching out to people with information that’s publicly available from the USPTO.
This practice is so prevalent that, whenever a registration certificate is issued, the Trademark Office now gives you a warning: “Some trademark applicants and registrants have paid fees to private companies mistakenly thinking they were paying fees required by the USPTO. We do not endorse any of these private companies and you are not required to use them.” In fact:
- The USPTO will only reach out to the person (hopefully, the attorney) who actually filed the application, because the attorney’s office is the correspondence address on the trademark applications and registration.
- Even if the client did not use a lawyer, the trademark office is never going to ask for money in a demand letter. They may warn you there are problems with your application and you have six months to respond — but they will never, ever ask for money.
I don’t want to mention the names of any of these fraudsters because I don’t want to assist in their branding (and one has even brought a lawsuit against trademark practitioners for defamation!), but suffice it to say they have successfully copied the look of the USPTO. Fortunately, most of my clients have contacted me before paying any of these “fees.”
I don’t know how or why, but scams such as these have become more and more common in recent years. You can protect yourself by retaining an experienced attorney who becomes the liaison between the Trademark Office and you. To learn more, contact us.
