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Scam notices are being sent to those who have filed trademark applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or already own a registered mark. The notices are designed to exploit publicly available...more
In this episode of IP Goes Pop!®, hosts Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue are joined by Jason Lott, Managing Attorney for Trademark Customer Outreach at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), to explore the evolving...more
Scams related to U.S. trademark filings are becoming more common and sophisticated, making these scams increasingly difficult for trademark owners to identify....more
Trademark scams are on the rise, again. In the five years since we initially published this advisory, scammers have honed their tactics, using advanced technology to distribute misleading solicitations and invoices related to...more
Trademark scams are on the rise and include increasingly varied communications attempting to trick trademark applicants and registrants into paying fees. If you receive any communications regarding your trademarks from anyone...more
Recently there has been an increase in offers and notices from companies not associated with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office (PTO)...more
In a world where trademark owners craft their brand narratives with creativity and innovation a dark undercurrent emerges – a rising tide of scams driven by the same ingenuity and resourcefulness....more
Over the years many clients have forwarded to us scam trademark mailings. These mailings come from various official-sounding sources, all of which seek money to allegedly take action regarding the client’s trademarks....more
One recent victim of scams preying on U.S. trademark filers and registrants answered a call that appeared to be from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). It wasn’t. The target of the scam was forced to...more
Every month, Erise’s trademark attorneys review the latest developments at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, in the courts, and across the corporate world to bring you the stories that you should know about: Travis...more
Especially during the holi-daze, it can be easy to let our safeguards down and fall prey to scammers looking to make a quick buck. Trademark applicants and registrants interacting with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office...more
Numerous clients are receiving unsolicited emails from a company called Trademark Omega. Future versions may originate from companies with different names. For your protection, we advise you to read the fine print....more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued an alert regarding a new scam targeting trademark owners. Scammers are calling trademark owners claiming they work for the USPTO. Many of them use “spoofed”...more
A record number of applicants are seeking to protect their trademarks by filing applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The problem? The rise in trademark applications has left open the doors...more
No sooner had we gone to press on our January article on the latest and greatest in trademark scams than the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a new alert raising awareness of yet another type of scam....more
As 2023 gets underway, we would like to remind our readers to remain vigilant for trademark scams, which target both new application filers and established brands, and have been known to arrive via email, mail, fax, and even...more
Thank you for reading the January 2023 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss an ongoing trademark dispute between the band OK Go and cereal company Post, how to stay vigilant about...more
This is not our first warning about trademark scams, and (sadly) it will surely not be our last, but it bears repeating that trademark owners should be extremely wary of any unexpected communications (email, text, snail mail)...more
[co-author: Ivy Attenborough, Summer Associate] Thank you for reading the June 2022 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss the differences between Copyright Claims Board and federal...more
The United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a new alert this week concerning fraudulent email messages which appear to be sent by the USPTO directly to trademark owners but are, in fact, sent by third parties...more
The USPTO has been working to combat misleading and fraudulent solicitations sent to federal trademark applicants/registrants and is calling on the public to report and identify these bad actors....more
Trademark scams are on the rise. Over the past year, Sullivan has seen a significant increase in the number of clients who have received misleading solicitations and invoices relating to their trademarks. Every brand...more
Your intellectual property (IP) is, of course, valuable to your business, and you have likely taken appropriate steps to maximize the legal protection for those assets. The most common form of protecting your company name,...more
If you own a U.S. trademark registration, chances are you’ve received official-looking solicitations offering to handle trademark services on your behalf in return for a fee. Read these notices carefully – more often than...more
In an August 2017 article titled “Don’t be duped by the trademark solicitation,” we warned you about misleading solicitations from private companies to renew your trademark registrations and provide other trademark-related...more