Government Contracting
Beware: Trademark Email Scams for “Separate Registration of ‘Clients’” Are Not from the United States Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) just issued a warning to be on the alert for “fraudulent emails that appear to originate from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) domain, @uspto.gov.”
The USPTO goes on to say:
“These emails are a scam and do not come from the USPTO. Beware that these messages:
- Spoof the USPTO email address (e.g., noreply@uspto.gov).
- Falsely claim that the USPTO has a new policy requiring separate registration of “clients” and that there is a “penalty” for not complying.
- Provide incorrect USPTO trademark filing information (e.g., incorrect fee information).”
As with any communication that appears to be from the USPTO or any third party, if you receive such an email, before responding or taking any action, you should verify its authenticity. This can be done directly through the USPTO Trademark Status & Document Retrieval (TSDR) database where you can enter the trademark application or registration number identified in the notice to view all of the Official USPTO correspondence. If what you received is not shown, it is most likely not from the USPTO.
In addition, the trademark team here at Miles & Stockbridge is always available to answer any questions about this alert or any communication regarding your trademarks or other intellectual property, so please reach out to your specific M&S contact attorney.
This alert was written by David R. Schaffer, Ajay A. Jagtiani, Karl W. Means, and Alisa D. Hurlburt at Miles & Stockbridge.
Any opinions expressed and any legal positions asserted in the article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Miles & Stockbridge P.C. or its other lawyers. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice on any particular matter. It is not intended to and does not create any attorney-client relationship. Because legal advice must vary with individual circumstances, do not act or refrain from acting on the basis of this article without consulting professional legal counsel. If you would like additional information on the subject matter of this article, please feel free to contact any of the lawyers listed above. If you communicate with us, whether through email or other means, your communication does not establish an attorney-client relationship with either Miles & Stockbridge P.C. or any of the firm's lawyers. At Miles & Stockbridge P.C., an attorney-client relationship can be formed only by personal contact with an individual lawyer, not by email, and requires our agreement to act as your legal counsel together with your execution of a written engagement agreement with Miles & Stockbridge P.C.
