Public talks were recently held between federal prosecutors and regulators and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) with regard to scammers who target trademark owners. These scammers use the USPTO’s Trademark Electronic Search System to obtain information about trademark. Then, while using names that are calculated to confuse people into believing they are receiving official USPTO transmittals, the scammers provide notice of alleged deadlines, offer trademark monitoring services, or offer to record a trademark in a private registry that is without legal effect. The USPTO advises that all official correspondence comes from the “United States Patent and Trademark Office” in Alexandria, Virginia, and all emails emanate from the domain “@uspto.gov.” Any trademark communications coming from other entities or domain names are suspect. For further information, see https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks-getting-started/caution-misleading-notices.
By Greg Johnson
