Recent unsolicited notices have been sent to U.S. trademark owners from a third party calling itself “Patent and Trademark Office”. Like other similar third party solicitations, about which the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office continues to warn on its website at https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks-getting-started/caution-misleading-notices, these list the details of the registered trademarks and offer to maintain or renew the registrations for a fee. What is different about these solicitations is that they appear to intentionally list inaccurate information about the due dates, reciting the registration date as two years earlier than the actual date and falsely advising trademark owners of a due date that is premature. This is an apparent attempt to mislead trademark owners to make an early payment before their legal representatives are likely to seek instructions.
(Click here to see example of solicitation)
U.S. trademark owners should be wary of such notices, which should generally be disregarded. It is also possible to retain the notice and its envelope to report the same to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at https://www.ftc.gov/faq/consumer-protection/submit-consumer-complaint-ftc. The FTC has been taking actions against fraudulent business practices in relation to misleading trademark offers/notices.
If you receive a notice from “Patent and Trademark Office” advising of a “Pending Trademark Cancellation by USPTO”, PLEASE DO NOT SEND PAYMENT.
