Trademark Scam Alert

Over the last few months, we have seen an uptick in fraudulent emails meant to scare companies into thinking they are about to lose their trademark rights.  Under this current scam, the sender claims to be willing to facilitate trademark registration services prior to registering the mark on behalf of another company, and states that if the recipient does not act quickly, the other company will register the recipient’s brand name.  These emails, which originate from addresses such as xxxxx@trademarkmega.com or xxxxx@trademarkregistrations.com among others, are similar to the following:

This message serves as our final attempt to connect with you. Failure to take action to register the brand name “XXXXXX” today will prompt us to proceed with the other applicant tomorrow. This may result in the forfeiture of your rights to utilize the brand name “XXXXXX”.

Please review the information below, providing you with further insight into trademark matters:

Why are we contacting you?

Our company policy dictates a comprehensive search of the brand name across search engines and social media platforms before commencing a trademark registration with the USPTO. We extend a 48 to 72-hour window to the current brand name user for a response and approval. Should there be no response within this timeframe, we proceed with the interested party for name registration.

Trademark infringement is governed by civil laws, and violations often lead to actions demanding the cessation of trademark use. Infringers might be required to discontinue the unauthorized use of the trademark and may need to surrender profits acquired through its unauthorized usage, or face financial damages due to trademark misuse.

What are the consequences of trademark violation?

The common repercussion of trademark infringement involves receiving an injunction or cease-and-desist order instructing the infringing party to halt using the trademarked material. In certain instances of intentional trademark law violation, criminal or civil penalties may apply, although this is relatively infrequent. The costs linked with trademark infringement lawsuits generally range from $120,000 to $750,000 on average, depending on the case’s complexity.

Considering your substantial history of using this brand, we may decide against proceeding with the other party, particularly if they are a startup company. Should you express interest in securing ownership of this brand name through trademark registration, please respond to us via email. We will then furnish you with the requisite information and registration process details.

We eagerly await your response.

If you have received one of these emails, you may wonder why. With technological advancements, it is now easier for opportunists to search public trademark databases and extract relevant information, including owner name and contact information, for their commercial gain. Companies are extracting information from public database records and using it to send communications directly to trademark owners.  Often these scams appear as official-looking documents that look a lot less like junk mail and more like invoices or official government agency or law firm correspondence. 

Be advised that not every official-looking document is what it appears to be, and carefully review each and every piece of seemingly official correspondence.  A good rule of thumb – all legitimate Trademark Office correspondence regarding your trademark application(s) or registration(s) will be from the “United States Patent and Trademark Office” in Alexandria, Virginia, or, if sent by email, from an address ending in “@uspto.gov,”  and the correspondence will be sent directly to your attorney of record (if one is listed). 

If you have any questions regarding the validity of a trademark correspondence, please do not hesitate to contact your attorney of record or the firm.