So you’ve just started a new business venture. You have a business name, a slogan, or a logo that you want to get protected by filing a trademark registration application. You work with an attorney to get all of the proper documents in order and filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). You are on your way to being able to use the ® symbol with your marks. A few months goes by, and you receive some very official looking documents in the mail stating that fees are due, or you should place your marks on a watch service to ensure no one is using them unjustly. At first glance, the name of the sender looks like the USPTO. You fill out the paperwork and send in the money thinking you are doing it to protect your intellectual property. Unfortunately, you have just fallen for one of the many non-USPTO related solicitations that are out there. The USPTO has been working to try to make people aware of these solicitations.
There are several private companies trying to take advantage of people who have filed for trademark registration. According to the USPTO, these solicitations may include offers: (1) for legal services; (2) for trademark monitoring services; (3) to record trademarks with U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and (4) to “register” trademarks in the company’s own private registry1.
Regrettably, these companies make their mailings look official by using names that look like the USPTO. They will use terms such as “United States,” “Agency,” “Office,” or “Trademark” in their company names to appear more official. Another way they present themselves as official is by using information gathered from the USPTO’s website. Filings for trademark registration are public records. Therefore, these companies are able to obtain information from a trademark registration application such as a filing date, serial number, or goods/services description that one might think only the USPTO would be able to access.
What can you do to protect yourself? The first thing is to only respond to correspondence sent from your attorney’s office or the USPTO. The United States Patent and Trademark Office’s name, and often times seal, should appear on the letter or document. If you receive a document via email, the domain name @uspto.gov should be seen.
Here are some known non-USPTO solicitors according to the USPTO¹:
Patent and Trademark Organization (New York, NY)
Trademark Office Ltd. (New York, NY)
U.S. Trademark Compliance Office (Wilmington, DE)
Patent & Trademark Bureau (Philadelphia, PA)
Patent & Trademark Office (555 Madison Ave., New York, NY)
Patent & Trademark Office (299 Park Ave., New York, NY)
Patent & Trademark Agency (New York, NY)
Trademark and Patent Office (Los Angeles, CA)
P.T.M.A. Patent and Trademark Association (New York, NY)
Trademark Compliance Center (Alexandria, VA)
Trademark Compliance Center (Washington, DC)
Trademark Compliance Office (Arlington, VA)
Trademark Registration and Monitoring Office (Past Due Notice) (Los Angeles, CA)
Trademark Registration and Monitoring Office (Intellectual Property Rights Recordation Alert) (Los Angeles, CA)
United States Trademark Registration Office (Los Angeles, CA)
Trademark Renewal Service (Washington, DC)
Trademark Renewal Service (New York, NY)
Intellectual Property Services USA Incorporated (Alexandria, VA)
Intellectual Property Agency Ltd. (London, U.K.)
Registration of International Trademark WDTP (Praha, Czech Republic)
WIPT World Patents Trademarks (Bratislava, Slovak Republic)
WPAT World Patents Trademarks (Bratislava, Slovak Republic)
United States Trademark Maintenance Service (Arizona)
U.S. Trademark Compliance Service (Phoenix, AZ)
IPTO International Patent & Trademark Organization (Brno, Czech Republic)
TM Collection (Szombathely, Hungary)
Patent Trademark Register
Register of International Patents and Trademarks (Bratislava, Slovak Republic)
Trademark Safeguard – Trademark Monitoring Service (New York, NY)
USTM Information Services (Idaho Falls, ID)
Brand Registration Office (Washington, DC)
TM Edition (Szentendre, Hungary)
TM-DB Register of Protected Trademarks (Washington, DC)
TM-DB Register of Protected Trademarks (Wilmington, DE)
TM-DB Register of Protected Trademarks (Pearland, TX)
IOPR – Intellectual Office Property Register (Beaverton, OR)
GBO, Inc., Trademark and Patent Dep. (Miami, FL)
IPTI – International Patent & Trademark Index (Czech Republic)
RPT Servis – Registration of the International Trademark (Czech Republic)
TPP – Trademark & Patent Publications (Poland)
When in doubt, always contact your attorney to find out if a document you received is legitimate. They will be happy to assist you and help you avoid being misled by one of these communications.
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1 http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks-getting-started/non-uspto-solicitations