In January, I posted about the scam from an outfit (not the government) deceptively called “Patent & Trademark Office.” At the time, they were in New York, NY. Now they have an address in Jersey City, NJ 07302.
The document could easily be mistaken as coming from the government – the “Patent & Trademark Office” name, the look and feel of the document, and the official looking bar code.
As a result of their use of the name “Patent & Trademark Office,” this solicitation is striking. On top of that, the services offered and the costs indicated are questionable.
Their “fee” of $890 is not cheap. And it is not clear what services they provide? Is this a Section 8 renewal, or 8 and 15? Do they provided legal advice about which renewal is appropriate, and whether the mark is in use or in use for all the goods and services in the registration? Are they attorneys and members of the bar?
It says that the registration is “about to expire.” But the renewal deadline is 10/23/2018, with a grace period until 4/23/2019 — more than 18 months from now. Also, it says the next renewal will be due in 5 years. That is not quite accurate; the ‘next’ renewal would be due during the 10th year of the registration.
If this was a legitimate service at a reasonable value, why would they mask who they are, and why would they choose the clearly deceptive name of “Patent & Trademark Office”? Why would their address have moved from “555 Madison Avenue, 5th Floor” to “299 Park Avenue, 6th Floor” in New York, and now to “101 Hudson Street, 21st Floor” in Jersey City, NJ? Note that the address appears to be a rented Regus office space.
Their website appears to be patenttrademarkoffice.org.
Beware of such scams. Read the fine print. Contact your attorney. Report scams to the FTC and USPTO.
Perhaps the USPTO should be working with Regus to help stop scammers from using their address services?
For more information, see:
- How to avoid being taken by a trademark scam
- WARNING: Non-USPTO Solicitations That May Resemble Official USPTO Communications
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Yeah!! how can they get away with using that name?
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