Trademark scams are on the rise, again. In the five years since we initially published this advisory, scammers have honed their tactics, using advanced technology to distribute misleading solicitations and invoices related to trademarks. Many clients report receiving a steady stream of these deceptive communications.

Every brand owner—from individuals and startups to Fortune 500 companies—is a potential target for trademark scammers and must be vigilant to guard against them. This advisory offers an overview of common misleading notices and provides five ultimate tips to help you navigate these traps effectively.

Types of Scams

Private companies unaffiliated with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the official governmental registry for trademarks in the United States, are exploiting publicly available USPTO data to send deceptive trademark solicitations via mail, email, and phone to trademark owners. These entities go to great lengths to create a facade of legitimacy while engaging in misleading practices.

For example, these companies may purport to offer legal services, such as assistance with trademark maintenance, office action responses or renewal filings. Others might offer registration of marks in private, non-governmental databases. Many solicitations appear official, demanding immediate action and payment, and the companies behind these schemes often operate under names and acronyms that imply governmental affiliation, using terms like “Trademark,” “Registration,” “Office,” and “Agency.” Yet, the formal appearance of an invoice or notice does not guarantee its legitimacy.

We are now witnessing new and sophisticated types of scams where fraudsters pose as service providers, such as law firms or trademark monitoring agencies. Clients increasingly report receiving notices from non-existent law firms and attorneys, which can be particularly alarming. Additionally, scammers are spoofing phone numbers to falsely claim affiliation with the USPTO, requesting payment or sensitive information via phone calls or text messages.

A typical scam email might include your application serial number or registration number alongside your trademark, falsely stating that you must provide personal information, documents, or payment details in response. Scammers may also create fraudulent email chains that appear to come from examining attorneys, misleadingly asserting that you have additional filings or fees due and offering to handle these fake tasks on your behalf. While these emails may seem official at first glance, remember that legitimate USPTO communications will always come from an address ending in “@uspto.gov.”

Often, these solicitations create a sense of urgency on the part of the trademark owner. Our clients have received alarming notifications that their trademark registrations are about to expire unless they pay large sums of money to these organizations to ensure renewal. Frequently, the solicitations will use dates that are incorrect. For example, we have seen scammers state that maintenance filings are due a year before the actual deadlines, implying that the first day of a one-year maintenance filing period is the final deadline. Trademark owners, understandably concerned about these types of notifications, may have the instinct to pay these fees without question. However, brand owners are never required to use any service or respond to payment demands solicited by these agencies to maintain the validity of their marks.

Trademark owners with international portfolios of marks must be especially attuned to the issue of misleading solicitations. This is a global issue, and our colleagues in Europe and around the world have reported a significant increase in the frequency of these notifications. This global issue affects U.S. clients, who may be less familiar with foreign registration requirements.

Several major official registries, including the USPTO, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), and the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO), have compiled databases of known scams to warn trademark owners. Though not exhaustive, as these unofficial agencies often change their names and addresses, the links provide a useful overview of the type and scope of misleading notices currently facing brand owners.

Unfortunately, there has been little government enforcement against the purveyors of these misleading notices, who have continued to operate unabated. As a result, trademark owners must remain vigilant.

The Anatomy of a Scam: How to Identify Fraudulent Notices

Misleading trademark solicitations come in many forms, but they tend to have a few common characteristics as outlined below:

Five Tips for Trademark Owners

Here are five tips for dealing with an unexpected notification, solicitation or invoice relating to your trademarks:

1. Do NOT Pay! You may feel compelled to respond immediately and make a payment. That’s understandable; these scams are often designed to create a sense of urgency and make the recipient think that by making a payment they are protecting their company’s interests. But as a best practice, we recommend that you wait a beat, take a deep breath, and refer to Tip 2.

2. Evaluate the Notice. Does the notice contain any of the red flags discussed above? If so, is the notice listed in the USPTO’s list of fraudulent and misleading solicitations? If so, disregard the notice.

3. Contact Your Trademark Lawyer. If you have questions about the validity of a trademark solicitation or invoice, do not hesitate to contact your trademark attorney here at Sullivan. We can typically tell right away whether a notice is legitimate or fraudulent. All legitimate USPTO trademark fees will be stated on our firm’s invoices and are not billed separately.

4. Spread the Word. If you are a member of your company’s legal or marketing team, you should alert other colleagues who might receive these types of notices, especially those who work in the accounting or finance department and are responsible for payment of invoices. Feel free to share this advisory.

5. File a Complaint. You may wish to file an official complaint with government authorities or consumer protection agencies. Suspicious activity can be reported to the USPTO at TMScams@uspto.gov. You may also file an online consumer complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), submit a report to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), or, if victim of a crime, file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.