To my knowledge, the USPTO and FTC have not yet taken any action against scammers in the US preying on trademark applicants and registrants. See for example:
- Trademark registrants continue to receive scam “international registration” solicitations
- New trademark scam solicitation from NovisLink
- Beware of trademark scam from “International Catalogue of Trademarks”
- Leason Ellis continues fight against trademark scammers
- Beware of trademark scam from IP Data for “Register of the International Trademark”
- More trademark scams: Trademark Owner’s Digest
However, the UK IPO is not sitting idly. They have taken against against at least two of these outfits to protect consumers and punish the entities for “passing off.” According to a report on gov.uk from August 18, 2014,
“Two of the most blatant offenders – ‘Patent and Trademark Office’ and ‘Patent and Trade Mark Organisation’ – and the persons behind these organisations, Mr Aleksandrs Radcuks and Mr Igors Villers, have admitted and settled our claims and agreed to be bound by an Order of the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court prohibiting them from further acts of passing off.”
Furthermore, the report indicates that the parties were required to make a substantial payment to cover some of IPO’s legal costs.
I sure hope the USPTO takes note of these actions and successes and considers taking steps to stop these scams and to protect US consumers.
For more reporting on this story, see:
