Trademark Applicants - Beware of Non-USPTO* Trademark Solicitations

Trademark applicants and registrants should be aware that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") was warned that private companies often use trademark application and registration information from the USPTO's databases to mail or e-mail misleading trademark-related solicitations.

According to the USPTO, these companies may use names that resemble the USPTO name, including, for example, one or more of the terms "United States," "U.S.," "Trademark," "Patent," "Registration," "Office," or "Agency." Increasingly, these companies attempt to make their solicitations mimic the look of official government documents rather than the look of a typical commercial or legal solicitation. The USPTO notes that most of these companies require that fees be paid.

According to the USPTO, applicants and registrants have reported paying fees to these private companies, mistakenly thinking that they were paying required fees to the USPTO. Accordingly, all trademark applicants and registrants should read all trademark-related communications carefully before making a decision about whether to respond. All official correspondence is sent from the "United States Patent and Trademark Office" in Alexandria, VA, and if by e-mail, from the domain "@uspto.gov."

For more information about third-party trademark solicitations, including a list of companies that may send such solicitations, you may visit the USPTO website.

Visit the USPTO website by clicking here.

NOTE: Trademarks On Call is a search tool, not a filer of trademarks.