Trademark Scams You Will Receive in the Mail

Please be aware that after you file a trademark application or receive your registration, you are likely going to receive mail from less than scrupulous companies claiming that you have something due on your trademark.

These letters look relatively official and indicate that you must pay a fee in order to have a renewal processed. Unfortunately, a lot of accounts receivable departments pay these without double checking the source.

We have clients that literally contact us on a daily basis asking about the variety of letters they’re receiving. The answer is always no.

The only time you need to pay for a renewal on your trademark is between the 5th and 6th year of ownership of your registration, between the 9th and 10th year of ownership of your registration, and every 10 years thereafter.

If you are a client of ours, we are going to notify you about your upcoming renewals, so please do not pay anything you get in the mail that claims you owe money on your trademark. These are all scams.

Unfortunately, the USPTO has not done enough to stem this issue. The agency allows bulk downloads of data about anyone who has every filed a trademark application.  Therefore, in order to get a mailing list, all anyone has to do is download every single trademark application and the data associated with them.

The USPTO is not protecting trademark applicants and registrants enough. They should be protecting the information that they’re collecting in a better fashion, so they do not allow for bulk download and these kinds of mailers to go out to the individuals and companies that are filing and registering trademarks.

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Josh Gerben, Esq.

Josh Gerben, Esq. is the founder and principal of Gerben IP. In 2008, Mr. Gerben started the firm to provide high-quality trademark services at reasonable prices. Today, he is recognized by the World Trademark Review as a top trademark filer, having registered over 7,500 trademarks. The contents of this blog are for informational purposes only and may not be relied on as legal advice.