When “IP” stands for illegal practices: Protecting your business from trademark deception

To safeguard the widgets in the warehouse, companies secure their facilities and put inventory controls in place. To protect assets that may be even more valuable – intellectual property like patents and trademarks – savvy businesses follow the registration and renewal processes established by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). But guess who else knows how highly your company values your trademarks? Scammers. That’s why they try to trick trademark applicants and owners into paying phony fees by falsely claiming an affiliation with the USPTO or by using other questionable tactics. The USPTO and the FTC have advice on how you and your staff can spot, stop, and report possible trademark-related deception.

Some scammers resort to old-school tried-and-untrue strategies. We’ve heard about letters, emails, texts, and phone calls that blatantly – and falsely – claim to come from the USPTO. These solicitations often threaten that trademark applicants or owners will lose their legal protections if they don’t send a payment immediately. Some of these pitches are strictly Amateur Hour with bogus seals, clumsy cut-and-paste letterheads, or glaring misspellings (for example, references to “patants”). Any of those telltale signs signal that a scam could be afoot. 

Other solicitations are more sophisticated, sometimes using the names of actual USPTO employees. The Caller ID for phone calls may falsely display a USPTO office or appear to come from the agency’s Alexandria, Virginia, headquarters. Another common pitch is to tell an applicant that someone else is trying to register the same trademark, so time (and money) are of the essence. In a variation on the scheme, businesses may get an unsolicited letter or email that claims to come from an attorney who promises to “expedite” a pending application.

The USPTO has reported other forms of trademark-related deception, too. For example, some companies that advertise bargain basement prices for registering trademarks either don’t provide necessary services or make misleading claims about their qualifications or credentials. These outfits often break their low-price promises by later insisting on additional fees for taxes, “attestations,” and other made-up charges. They depend on an “in for a dime, in for a dollar” mindset that once businesses have shelled out cash for trademark services, they may be reluctant to stop the process even when their suspicions are aroused. 

Here are a few things you can do to help protect your business from deceptive practices.

When they go fast, you go slow. Trademark scammers use a variety of sneaky strategies, but most of them have one thing in common: They create a false sense of urgency, suggesting that not responding immediately could result in the cancellation of your trademark or a delay in the registration process. They hope their overheated “Act now!” urgings will prevent trademark applicants or owners from studying the solicitation carefully and conducting their own research on the genuine USPTO website. (Pro tip: Don’t click on a link or use a QR code in a message that claims to be contacting you about your trademark unless you’ve already confirmed that it really came from the USPTO. You can do that by locating the document using the USPTO’s Trademark Status & Document Retrieval (TSDR) tool. A message from an imposter could send you to a phony look-alike site designed to take your money and your personal information.)

Keep your wallet closed. Yes, there are fees associated with the trademark process, but no one from the USPTO will ever contact you and ask for your credit card number or bank account information. Nor will they direct you to wire money or to send cash or gift cards. The agency follows very specific protocols to maintain the safety and security of the payment process. Any request for payment that doesn’t conform to USPTO practices should sound an alarm. 

Don’t be swayed by facts that are publicly available. “But the letter had the name of a real USPTO attorney!” “But the email included details about our pending application!” “But the Caller ID said USPTO!” When evaluating whether a solicitation is genuine, remember that the names of USPTO staffers and information about your trademark application are publicly available. What’s more, it’s easy to spoof Caller ID displays. Scammers have been known to personalize their pitches with those details to create credibility. Keep your guard up.

Thinking of hiring a third party to handle your trademark registration? Seek out reliable references from people you trust. Before hiring someone to assist with the registration process, ask yourself if you really want to risk your brand on an unknown quantity. Instead, get references from people you know and trust – for example, reliable business people in your community. Ask for their recommendations and then conduct independent research to determine what’s the best fit for your company.

Check the credentials of people who are supposedly offering legal services. It won’t be the popular Halloween costume of 2024, but companies – especially small businesses – have reported a spate of people masquerading as lawyers. Maybe it’s an unsolicited approach from someone who says they’re a trademark attorney. In other instances, businesses hired to design logos or provide related services may claim they can hire an attorney for you. In either case, insist on specifics to make sure the person really is a lawyer. After getting their particulars, contact the State Bar where they’re supposedly licensed to see if they’re listed, but don’t stop there. Contact them directly at their phone number of record with the State Bar to make sure their name isn’t being use falsely.

Speak up if you spot suspicious practices. Email TMScams@uspto.gov if you spot something that raises red flags. Also, report it to the FTC at our dedicated link specifically for possible trademark scams.

The USPTO’s Trademark Assistance Center, 1-800-786-9199, can answer many of your questions and point you to helpful online resources. For more information about trademark-related deception, including ID verification scams and misleading practices that specifically target IP practitioners, Protect against trademark scams and How to avoid scams for trademark services are good places to start. Looking for trademark fundamentals for small businesses? Trademark Basics Boot Camp was designed with you in mind.