The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“Trademark Office” or “USPTO”) has issued an alert about a sophisticated new scam targeting federal trademark registrants. Bad actors are now using spoofed Trademark Office email addresses to send legitimate-looking notices to the holders of federal registrations. The notices come via email and, because the sender spoofs the “uspto.gov” domain name, the emails appear to originate from the USPTO.
The example that the Trademark Office gave is a notice that falsely states that a new Trademark Office policy requires separate registration of “clients” and that there is a “penalty” for not complying. Another provides incorrect trademark filing information (e.g., incorrect fee information).
Furthering the potential for deception is the fact that this new scam follows a recent Trademark Office policy change requiring a contact email address for registrants in addition to attorney contact information. We understand that the e-mail address is not made public and the Trademark Office will only use it to contact registrants if their attorney’s representation ends, but its proximity in time signals there is an increased potential for confusion and susceptibility to these scams.
We encourage you to contact us if you receive anything purporting to be from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (uspto.gov). We can easily determine its authenticity and recommend the best course of action.
If you are interested, the Trademark Office maintains a list of examples of solicitations from entities unaffiliated with the Trademark Office, including known scams, potentially misleading offers and notices, and other non-Trademark Office solicitations about which the Trademark Office has received inquiries or complaints. That list can be viewed here. For more information on trademark scams see our November 18, 2019 article Avoiding Trademark Scams and Solicitations.
Please contact an OW&E attorney if you have questions or require additional information.
— Contributed by Spencer Owen