Even if there have been some measures to stop, punish, and prevent scammers preying on trademark filers at the USPTO over the last year, it is not enough. More must be done. I get multiple calls, emails, and comments on blog posts asking about the trademark scams every week.
Over the last year, the most popular page on my website is about the WTP scam. And more than half of 10 most popular pages at erikpelton.com during the last year are about scams! Thankfully people are getting this information about WTMR, WTP and others. But how many are getting duped instead?
The search console from Google, below shows that over the last 12 months, more than 7,000 people click on our site to learn about trademark scams. I looked at the history and these clicks have continued to rise over recent years. I worry about how many didn’t search or didn’t realize these were scams.
Surely more could be done by law enforcement, the USPTO, the FTC, the SBA, the Department of Commerce, and others. Surely trademark organizations like INTA, ABA-IPL, AIPLA, and IPO could use their voices more loudly to raise the alarm.
Each time someone falls prey: People are being duped. Time is being wasted. And trust in the system is being eroded.
To read more about trademark scams and our efforts to combat them, please visit Is This A Trademark Scam?®
