This is the first in a series of 3 posts concerning trademark-related scams. Don't forget, Lloyd & Mousilli is hosting a free webinar on Tuesday, October 29 about this and other trademark scams! You can sign up for that here: https://www.bigmarker.com/alt-legal/Don-t-Get-Tricked. Everyone who registers for the event will receive a link to a recording of it later.
As is the case with scammers in many aspects of our lives, trademark scammers often attempt to solicit payments from trademark holders and attorneys alike by providing official-presenting information, frequently with some form of fabricated urgency. They hope that the recipient will accept the charge at face value and pay up to avoid these supposed risks to theirs or their clients' trademarks. These impersonators often reach out to applicants via phone, email, and mail.
Phone Calls:
The genuine USPTO will never call you directly to request a fee of any kind. Even if your phone identifies the call as originating from the USPTO, if they're asking for a fee, it's not the trademark office.
This trick is called phone number spoofing, and it makes modern scammers particularly dangerous. The USPTO has put out some valuable guidance on this issue, noting that they will never call from a classic toll-free number like 800 or even the main "contact" number, as this number is only used to take calls as opposed to making them.
So be skeptical if you do receive a call from someone who claims they're with the USPTO. Remember: if an attorney filed your application and is listed as your representative on your application, the USPTO is actually not even allowed to contact you! If someone "from the USPTO" contacts you as a represented applicant, make sure to tell your attorney right away.
If you did file your application without an attorney and you get a call from the USPTO, it's a good idea to get the caller's name and law office number and ask if you can call them back. Once you get off the phone, you can verify via the USPTO's employee locator (https://portal.uspto.gov/EmployeeSearch/) whether that information is correct. If so, you can use the phone number listed for that employee on the website to contact them. Alternatively, you can call the Trademark Assistance Center at 1-800-786-9199 to confirm the employee's identity. The examining attorneys at the USPTO are very aware of the trademark scams occurring right now, and will understand if you want to verify their identity before speaking with them.
One way to try to prevent future scam calls is to avoid putting any phone number on your trademark application, as this is not actually required. While scammers maystill try to reach out to you via phone even if your number is not listed on your application, leaving it off reduces the likelihood of it occurring.
E-mails:
Scammers may also pose as the USPTO via email. Many of these communications claim that a trademark holder hasn't paid some part of their application or maintenance fee, or that a conflicting trademark has been found through a search and the trademark holder must pay a fee to resolve the issue. These emails can be dismaying to receive as a trademark holder, and sometimes even attorneys may brush past red flags when scammers roll out an official letterhead and 24-hour deadline.
If this happens, keep in mind: any emails from the USPTO will end in "@uspto.gov." You will primarily only receive USPTO emails from 3 main email addresses, which are used to notify mark holders and attorneys of changes or updates to an application or registration: tmng.notices@uspto.gov for office actions requiring a response, and TMOfficialNotices@uspto.gov and TrademarkAssistanceCenter@uspto.gov for procedural status updates like Notices of Allowance, Notices of Publication, Registration, and Maintenance reminders.
If you are not represented by an attorney, you may also receive an email from a specific examining attorney asking for your authorization to make specific amendments to a specific application. Such emails will be from addresses containing an examiner's first and last name and ending in uspto.gov. Any other emails purporting to be from the USPTO, and particularly any official-looking emails requesting fee payments, are likely scams.
Letters:
Finally, last but not least, scammers often target trademark applicants and registrants via physical letters. These often are sent by entities with official sounding names which sound similar to the USPTO and will request additional payments to "publish" your application or "renew" your registered trademark.
If this happens, check over the letter carefully. Actual official correspondence relating to your trademark application will only come from the USPTO or the United States Patent and Trademark Office, which is based in Alexandria, Virginia. Variations on that name, such as Trademark Renewal Service or Patent and Trademark Bureau, are not legitimate. Scammer letters will also often include small misspellings of an office name, or will include fine print disclaimers indicating that they are not actually a federal agency.
You can also look up names of scammers and examples of misleading solicitations on the USPTO's website at https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/protect/examples-fraudulent-misleading-solicitations.
Remember, if you are represented by an attorney, make sure you tell them about any attempts that are made to contact you and talk to you about your trademark application so that they have all the information they need to keep you and your application protected.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
