• Services
  • Attorneys
  • Media & Insights
  • Online Payment
Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. A description of the selection methodology can be found here.
  • Services
  • Attorneys
  • Media & Insights
  • About Us
  • Delivering Value
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Meritas
  • Contact Us
  • Online Payment
    A
    Alternative Dispute ResolutionAntitrust & Trade RegulationAppellate Practice
    B
    Banking & Financial ServicesBankruptcy, Creditors’ Rights, and Financial RestructuringBeer LawBusiness Law
    C
    Cannabis LawConstruction LawCooperative and Condominium Law (Co-op & Condo)Criminal Defense
    E
    Economic Development LawElder Care & Special Needs LawElectronic Discovery ("E-Discovery")Environmental LawERISA & Employee BenefitsEstate Planning and Administration & Wealth PreservationExecutive Compensation and Employment Strategies
    F
    Food, Beverage & HospitalityFranchise Law
    H
    Health Care & Life SciencesHealth Care ProvidersHigher EducationHospitals and Health Networks
    I
    ImmigrationInsurance CoverageIntellectual PropertyIntellectual Property Litigation, Arbitration, and Dispute ResolutionIntellectual Property Portfolio Strategy, Management & LicensingInternational BusinessInternet Law
    L
    Labor & EmploymentLiquor Law, Licensing, Manufacturing, and DistributionLitigation
    M
    Media Law & Creative Economy PracticeMergers & AcquisitionsMunicipal Law
    N
    Non-Profit Law
    P
    Patent Preparation and ProsecutionPharmaceutical / Medical Devices / Pharma ServicesProducts and Consumer Liability DefenseProfessional LiabilityPublic Utilities
    R
    Real Estate, Finance, and Land Use
    S
    SecuritiesSolar Energy
    T
    TaxationTelecommunicationsTrademark & Copyright Protection & Enforcement
    V
    Venture Tech & Emerging Growth Companies
    W
    White Collar Investigations & DefenseWorkers’ Compensation
    • New Jersey
    • New York
    • Pennsylvania
    • Blogs
    • Articles
    • Podcasts
    • COVID-19 Resources

    Categories

    Copyright Copyright Infringement Copyright Licensing Copyright Office Copyright|Copyright Infringement|Intellectual Property Copyright|Copyright Infringement|Intellectual Property|Social Media Copyright|Copyright Infringement|Social Media Copyright|Intellectual Property Copyright|Intellectual Property|Social Media|Trademarks Court Decisions Double Patenting>Same Invention Double Patenting>Terminal Disclaimers Drafting Patents Drafting Patents>Claims Drafting Patents>Claims>Written Description False Advertising Federal Circuit Food & Beverage Food & Beverage|Intellectual Property Food & Beverage|Labeling|Legislation Food & Beverage|Trade Dress Food & Beverage|Trademark Infringement|Trademark Office|Trademark Registration|Trademarks Food & Beverage|Trademark Infringement|Trademarks|Unfair Competition Food & Beverage|Trademark Office|Trademark Registration|Trademarks|TTAB Food & Beverage|Trademark Office|Trademark Registration|TTAB Food & Beverage|Trademark Office|Trademarks Food & Beverage|Trademark Office|Trademarks|TTAB Food & Beverage|Trademark Registration|Trademarks Food & Beverage|Trademarks General In The News Intellectual Property Labeling Lanham Act Legislation Licensing Navigating the Patent Office Navigating the Patent Office>Examiner Interviews Obviousness/Inventive Step>Prima Facie Obviousness Patent Patent Eligibility Privacy Right of Publicity Social Media Supreme Court Trade Dress Trademark Infringement Trademark Infringement|Trademark Office|Trademark Registration|Trademarks Trademark Infringement|Trademark Registration|Trademarks Trademark Infringement|Trademarks Trademark Office Trademark Office|Trademark Registration|Trademarks Trademark Office|Trademark Registration|Trademarks|TTAB Trademark Office|Trademarks Trademark Registration Trademark Registration|Trademarks Trademark Registration|Trademarks|TTAB Trademark Registration|TTAB Trademarks TTAB Uncategorized Unfair Competition
    Blogs > More Than Your Mark® > Beware the Trademark Scammers
    Member
    Jeanne Hamburg
    Visit Profile

    Beware the Trademark Scammers

    Beware the Trademark Scammers

    Sometimes, it seems not a day goes by without a client calling about a trademark-related scam. To help you avoid becoming another victim, I am writing about two of the more common fraudulent schemes.

    The first involves the transmission (via snail mail or email) to the owner of a trademark registration of a notice that looks official, and may even be labeled “Patent and Trademark Office.”  The notice requests payment to “renew” a trademark registration, warning that if it is not received by a specific date, the trademark registration will expire. To be sure, trademark registrations must be maintained (between five and six years following registration, and every tenth anniversary of registration).  However, the date of “renewal” in these fraudulent notices is inaccurate, typically a year or more before (or after) the actual renewal deadline, as the scammers know many trademark registrants have counsel who will notify them of the deadlines.  Some examples can be found here, here and here.  More recently, clients have contacted me about emails addressed to them warning that if they do not pay the required “fees,” their trademark registration(s) will expire, so these scammers are becoming more sophisticated and no longer relying exclusively on snail mail.  These emails look official too.  One recent email used a stylized logo for “IPTR International Patent and Trademark Register,” which, of course, does not exist.

    The real U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) does not correspond by mail concerning renewal deadlines.  Rather it sends email notifications to you or your counsel.  If you have experienced trademark counsel, that attorney should be keeping track of the deadlines to maintain the registration.  Accordingly, we recommend ignoring any paper notices about upcoming deadlines and reaching out to your trademark counsel if you have any questions.

    The second type of scam is a newer one, born after Amazon launched its Brand Registry.  The Amazon Brand Registry allows owners of any trademark registration consisting of words and a design, or words alone, to electronically enroll its brand.  The Amazon Brand Registry greatly benefits trademark registrants, because Amazon will automatically take down, or prevent, the sale of any counterfeit goods that it finds, through automated means, on its website – that is, those goods that copy the registrant’s trademark. To ensure that only the actual owners of trademark registrations (and not counterfeiters) are enrolling in the Amazon Brand Registry, Amazon will send an authentication code to the correspondent recorded in PTO for the trademark registration in question.  This correspondent is typically counsel for the trademark owner who handled the original trademark application, or maintenance or renewal of the resulting trademark registration, in the PTO.  Counterfeiters who wish to sell their products on Amazon have started to file “change of correspondence address” forms changing the names of the correspondent associated with registrations in the Trademark Office.  Then, when Amazon sends the code to the counterfeiter’s address, the counterfeiter is able to enroll in the Amazon Brand Registry, pose as the legitimate trademark owner, and sell its infringing products.  The good news is that the PTO has caught on to the scam and has begun to scrutinize these change of correspondence address forms.  Additionally, the PTO also alerts, via email, the existing correspondent (the attorney or trademark owner who handled the application, or maintained or renewed the registration) of the filing of a change of correspondence address form.  If the original correspondent does not recognize the new correspondent, it can alert the PTO (also via email) of the scam, and the PTO will not change the correspondence address.  This scam is one of many good reasons to have an attorney handle the filing and maintenance of your trademark registrations.

    I hope that knowing about these common fraudulent schemes will help you.  Should you have any questions about the subject of this article, or any other trademark, copyright or unfair competition matter, please contact me at jhamburg@norris-law.com.

    Member
    Jeanne Hamburg
    Visit Profile

    Related Posts

    Internet Archive’s Unauthorized Lending of Copyrighted eBooks is Not Fair Use Around the World and Back Again: Tips for Global Brand Protection US Patent and Trademark Office Suspends Action on Trademarks Critical of Public Figures

    Share

    Tags

    #Amazon Brand Registry #brand enforcement #intellectual property #Scam #trademark #Trademark Attorney #trademark law #Trademark Renewal #Trademark Scam #United States Patent and Trademark Office #USPTO

    Helpful links

    • About Us
    • News
    • Services
    • Blogs
    • Attorneys
    • Articles
    • (COVID-19)
    • Award Methodology
    • Events
    • Join our Team
    Connect
    Online Payment

    Connect with Us

    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • Youtube

    Join our growing team

    We are looking for quality attorneys to help us do more for our clients. At Norris McLaughlin, each attorney has the same opportunity to succeed whether you’re at the beginning of a career or pinnacle of the profession.

    Learn More

    Subscribe to our content

    Receive timely legal information delivered to your inbox

    This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
    © , Norris McLaughlin, P.A., All Rights Reserved. Attorney Advertising.
    VIEW OUR DISCLAIMER,  TERMS OF USE,  AND PRIVACY POLICY

    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume you consent to our cookie policy. Learn more