Holland & Knight's Intellectual Property Group has previously reported about scams being emailed to clients claiming that if the client does not immediately act, someone else may take control of their trademark. This is one of several trademark-focused scams targeting clients.
These scams take many forms and appear to be from legitimate law firms or official governmental entities such as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Regardless of the form, all of these scams are phishing for information, money or both. Several clients have recently received emails similar to the below.
From: USPTO <email@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, May 11, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Subject: Official USPTO Notification - U.S. Trademark Application SN 12345678 Reference No. (07210-0011)
To: client@email.com
OFFICIAL USPTO NOTICE FOR REGISTRATION
U.S. Application Serial No.12345678
Mark: TRADEMARK
Owner: CLIENT ENTERPRISES, INC.
Reference No. 07210-0011
I hope this message finds you well.
This is Mark from the USPTO Assistance Center. I'm reaching out regarding your application for the business name "TRADEMARK" with serial number "12345678"
Unfortunately, your application has been abandoned due to a lack of response to the office action from the assigned federal examining attorney.
As a result, another party is now applying for the same name. Without your active application, they can move forward and potentially claim ownership of "TRADEMARK"
As a courtesy, the USPTO is inviting you to contest this claim. If you wish to assert ownership, please let us know and confirm that you intend to re-file your application. By doing so, we can reject the conflicting party's objection, allowing you to retain rights to the mark.
Please provide the best time and number to get in touch with you over the phone so that a phone call can be scheduled between you and your assigned case attorney.
Important: This is an automated message. For assistance, please contact me directly at info@trademarkappeal.com
Best Regards,
Mark | Legal Team
Senior IP Paralegal | Litigation Officer
Email: info@trademarkappeal.com
Tips to Identify the Scam
- Review the Domain Name. The USPTO domain name is uspto.gov. Emails from the USPTO will be from @uspto.gov.
- Urgency and Fear. Misleading or fraudulent solicitations often claim that immediate action or payments are required or you may lose the rights to your trademark.
- Look for Typos. Typos are often found in these types of solicitations (i.e., missing punctuation, formatting and grammatical errors).
- Missing or Conflicting Information. Conflicting email addresses or other information is a red flag, as is the lack of a sender's full name, address, phone number or other identifying information.
The Role of the USPTO
The USPTO is a federal agency that provides a system for registering trademarks and service marks. It examines trademark applications, registers them and maintains records of registered marks. It will never contact you about another person filing a trademark application. It will never "invite you to contest" another party's application. It will never ask you to confirm whether you intend to file or refile an application. Most importantly, the USPTO will never ask you for your personal or payment information via email, phone or text.
Know Your Rights
The U.S. is a "first use" country. Generally, this means that the first person to use the mark for their goods and services will have priority rights over later users in the states or regions where you are offering your goods and services under the mark. A later user cannot simply seek and obtain a trademark registration for the same mark and stop you from continuing to use your mark. Based on your priority rights, you may also have certain rights against the later user from using the same mark if such use is likely to cause confusion in the market.
How to Protect Yourself
Do not respond to these types of solicitations. All correspondence relating to a trademark application handled by your intellectual property counsel will be sent to you from them. You will not receive any direct communications from the USPTO or any other government agency. If you receive this type of email and are unsure as to its legitimacy, please contact your counsel directly. See the USPTO's website for more information relating to trademark scams.
