This scam showed up in a client’s mailbox this week. WTMR is back. They were going by WTRM. And now they want your scam check mailed to a PO Box in Fort Lauderdale.
I am sick and tired of these scammers. And I am tired of waiting for the government to do something about them. How many businesses need to lose money, and how much attorney time needs to be lost before more is done? The various scams are undermining trust in the entire trademark system by causing doubt and spreading misinformation.
This latest iteration from WTMR, LLC is for $980.00. (See below.) Trash it. Or better yet report them to the USPTO, the FTC, and for mail fraud and scamming at the US Postal Inspection Service at https://www.uspis.gov/report.
It seems to me that this is clear evidence of an intent to mislead and defraud consumers who own trademark filings with the USPTO. When will the USPTO, Trademark Public Advisory Committee (TPAC), Fair Trade Commission (FTC), Department of Justice (DoJ), and U.S. Postal Service (USPS) ramp up any investigations and crack downs on these scams. Of course it is not easy to track the catch those behind these offerings, but is enough being done? Not in my opinion.
The “Word Trademark Register” is not any official database or directory. It has no real benefits. It was essentially created for the purpose of taking people’s money. According to their website, “Our main business activity is to publish the World TradeMark Register Catalog, which is an annual, unofficial, international catalog of registered trademarks.” In essence, they acknowledge the directory has no real value or purpose.
I have never once met a trademark attorney that uses such directories for any searches or other purposes, or one recommends to his or her clients that they pay these fees. The address provided is a shared virtual office space.
Don’t be taken for this scam to the tune of $980.00 USD.
Beware of such scams. Read the fine print. Contact your attorney. Report scams to the FTC, USPIS, and USPTO.
More resources:
- How trademark scams work: WTMR changes name to WTRM
- Beware of scam from WTMR – World Trademark Register
- How to report trademark scam mail to the FTC
Well damn! Thanks for this! I suspected it was bogus. Thansk for the confirmation. Next step is to report to USPTO. Thanks!
I was just about to email you to ask about this. After taking a breath, I actually assumed it was a scam as I remember receiving this type of BS re our website too. Thanks for staying on top of this crap.
Thank you, Today I received a mailbox from WTMR
Yes, I got my letter today. No explanation of what/who they are. I googled the name to see, and your website is the first thing that popped up. Thanks fo rthe tip!!
Just received two letters from them – one for my business name, the other for my business logo. Had I not already had lawyers taking care of all of this for me I would’ve been completely duped. The letters look extremely official. Fortunately, I decided to follow the website URL they had in their letter (WTMR.org) and it takes you to a Wikipedia page about a radio station with those call letters – nothing about trademarks. Then I did a Google search for “World Trademark Register” and that’s when I saw this article about this whole thing being a scam. (Whew!) I almost forked over $980 TWICE for something that wasn’t even legit.
Why did I get one today i new it was a scam I’m like why I need you to post my company it already posted uspto but so happy you have this because a lot of people would think they need this
Just received this in the mail today thank god I did a Google search for “World Trademark Register” because it lead me to this article about this whole thing being a scam. Thank you again for writing this and helping us all avoid being taken advantage of.
Just received
Thank you so much! I just received one of these letters for my nonprofit and I was a bit confused. Thank you!
Thank you for this post. I got one of these letters this week and my common sense kicked in and did a quick google search before taking any action. It didn’t seem legit but wanted to make sure as almost 1K of a random bill is quite shocking.
Thank you very much. I got the email recently and was about to pay. I was lucky to search “WTMR, LLC” before mailing a check to them.
Thank you so much I received this same letter last week a d was confused why I needed to pay but I knew something was up. I teard that letter apart. Thank to you guys
I received my trademark 2 business days ago and received this exact letter today. I appreciate your blog and thank you for saving my small business $980.00.
I got a letter from world trademark & patent register out of 66 west Flagler street, suite 900 miami, FL. 33130. Wanting me to send them 2.471,00 that’s exactly how the numbers were written. WTPR
I’m sitting here with that same exact paper in my hand and seeing my real serial number to my USPTO account almost had me. Thank you so so much!
I just received a letter in the mail. Thank you for this information!!! They are sending 2023 Offers for the same $980 amount listed above.
I just got scammed by this company. Sent payment on March 9th 2023. Called my bank they said they couldn’t do anything. So I filed a report with the local police department. Hopefully something good comes out of this.
I am so sorry to hear you got scammed. I suggest that you report what happened to the FTC and to the USPTO.
I received my letter today. Thanks for posting this information.
I do not support these types of tactics, but it is YOUR DUTY to read. They have covered themselves left, right and center by CLEARLY STATING IN ALL CAPS: “THIS IS NOT A BILL. THIS IS A SOLICITATION. YOU ARE NOT OBLIGATED….” If some fails to read and blindly writes checks or gives their credit card to pay every bill-looking solicitation they receive, without reading or questioning, then they deserve what is comes to them! Sorry! Read folks READ, it is not that difficult nor are you THAT busy!