Trademark Scams. They’re a Thing.

As if business owners need another thing to worry about. Unfortunately, trademark scams are incredibly common and are becoming more and more ruthless.

Trademark scams target - you guessed it - trademark applicants. That means you. In our experience, trademark applicants receive letters or other official-looking communications from an organization with a name that sounds or looks like the USPTO, e.g., “Patent and Trademark Bureau,” “The Trademark Compliance Center,” “Trademark and Patent Office,” “World Patent and Trademark Register (WPTR),” and “Worldwide Trademarks.” (Hint: none are real organizations.) These communications typically demand thousands of dollars to proceed with the registration of your trademark or offer to register your mark on a database that does not exist.

We don’t want you to be fooled - these are scams. If you receive one of these letters or communications, do not do anything before you CALL US.

The USPTO is aware of these scams and provides examples on its website here.

How do these scammers find me?

Trademark applications, and all the information in them, are public (as required by the USPTO). That means anyone in the public with access to a computer, can access the information in your application. Scammers have access to your name, mailing address, information about your trademark, and your trademark registration number. They use this information to send you communications demanding money to put your trademark on a fake register, to continue processing your trademark application, etc. IT’S ALL FAKE.

Early on in these scams, scammers targeted trademark applicants who filed their own trademark application without an attorney. Now, scammers are much more bold and indiscriminate. They do not care if a trademark application was filed by an attorney. They will target you anyway.

There are ways to protect yourself from these scams. (And none of them involve providing false information to the USPTO on your application. Just don’t do it.) By far the best way to protect yourself is to contact us immediately if you get a letter, email, or other communication purporting to be about your trademark that did not come from us directly.

Identifying a trademark scam

Any and all communications from the USPTO about your trademark application will come from either its uspto.gov domain OR its Alexandria, Virginia address. Any communications that you receive that are not from either of these two places are scams. Also, keep in mind that all letters from the USPTO will have the official USPTO insignia/seal on them.

Trademark scammers have gotten better at impersonating the USPTO, including using fake USPTO letter head and faking the USPTO seal. One way to quickly determine whether a communication purporting to be from the USPTO is fake is if it asks for money. USPTO employees will never ask you to provide payment information. All trademark fees are paid through the TEAS system. Also, be cautious of any communication that requires you to (1) take immediate action and (2) requires a payment.    

Another way to protect yourself from a trademark scam is to use an attorney to file your trademark application. When you work with an attorney, all communications from the USPTO regarding your trademark application go through your attorney, who will pass them on to you. And if you do receive a communication relating to your trademark from a third party who is not your attorney, your first action should be to contact your attorney.

Finally, as we will discuss when we work together, all actions relating to your trademark registration will be on your mark’s page on the USPTO website. On your page, you will find any actions that the examining attorney has issued on your application and any oppositions filed. If the communication you receive discusses something that is not on your mark’s page, it is a scam.

We get it. These scams look real. And you are really invested in your trademark registration. So call us, and/or send us a copy of the communication you received before you take any action. We will give you peace of mind to throw it in the trash.

What if I fall for a trademark scam?

First, please understand any one of us could fall for these scams. They are that good. These scammers are skilled and ruthless.

Regrettably, if you pay money to the trademark scammers, it is unlikely you will get it back. The USPTO cannot and will not refund any monies paid to scammers. But that doesn’t mean you should do nothing. First, report any financial fraud to your bank and/or credit card company. Second, the USPTO encourages anyone who has been a victim of a trademark scam to report it via email to TMscams@uspto.gov and to file a consumer complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Reporting the scam to the USPTO and the FTC is important to help raise awareness and prevent other trademark applicants from becoming victims. Finally, consider contacting your local FBI field office and local state attorney general and report the fraud.