Fraudulent Solicitations to Trademark Owners

 

Fraudulent Solicitations to Trademark Owners

Numerous owners of U.S. trademark registrations, as well as applicants for such registrations, have been targeted by unscrupulous parties who extract their names from United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) databases and offer them services, often holding themselves out to be acting on behalf of the USPTO. In many instances, the services are never performed, or are performed in an incorrect manner that puts the registration at risk of cancellation. In addition, inflated fees may be charged for the alleged services. This roundtable will provide an opportunity for interested parties to share their ideas about how to address this problem.

In an effort to provide U.S. government officials with more information about the scope of this problem and to continue to raise public awareness about it, the USPTO and its Trademark Public Advisory Committee are hosting this free public roundtable on fraudulent and misleading trademark solicitations.

Parties who have been victimized by these scams, or attorneys whose clients have been victimized by them, are encouraged to speak at this roundtable. The USPTO has invited representatives from several federal agencies — including the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Small Business Administration — to describe and hear about experiences with these scams.

Federal Register Notice:

Additional details about the meeting appear in the Federal Register notice, published June 29, 2017.

Transcript:

 A transcript of the event is also available.

Summary

A summary of the event can be found here.

Agenda:

The agenda can be viewed here.

Additional information:

The registration website provides additional information about directions and accommodation. For non-press inquiries, please contact Leigh Lowry at the USPTO’s Office of Policy and International Affairs, telephone (571) 272-9300, or by email at tmpolicy@uspto.gov.