The following is an edited transcript of Chapter 13 of my book video Building a Bold Brand: Beware of Scams
Few things I have written about over the years have garnered more attention than my coverage of worthless scams that prey upon trademark owners. If you think you might have received a trademark scam letter or solicitation, here are some tips:
- Do not pay it.
- Search the internet for information about the material you received. Use particular language or addresses from the material and place it in quotations (“ ”) to make the search more direct.
- Contact an attorney if you have any questions.
- Contact the USPTO if you do not have an attorney at 800-786-9199 or email TrademarkAssistanceCenter@uspto.gov.
- Read the fine print.
- Be wary of requests to wire money to any bank, particularly a foreign one. Any such request should raise significant red flags.
- Try contacting the company that sent the letter via email or phone or online.
- Don’t pay for trademark directory listings. No one uses them!
- Check the list of “Non-USPTO Solicitations That May Resemble Official USPTO Communications” provided by the USPTO at https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks-getting-started/caution-misleading-notices.
- Check the list of unofficial solicitations compiled by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) at http://www.wipo.int/pct/en/warning/pct_warning.html.
- Remember that if the correspondence did not come from the USPTO in Alexandria, VA, or from uspto.gov, then it is not official nor from the government.
- File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov.
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