Trademark owners, take note. If you file an application for federal trademark registration, you should keep an eye out for misleading mailings from unscrupulous vendors trying to sell you (or trick you into paying for) things you don’t need.
This is one reason the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office warns as follows:
“By filing this application, you acknowledge that YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CONFIDENTIALITY in the information disclosed. The public will be able to view this information in the USPTO’s on-line databases and through internet search engines and other on-line databases.”
Heed this warning. Fraudsters troll the PTO’s public database and send applicants phony invoices and other official-looking mailings. Their names frequently mimic the PTO’s, and include words like “United States,” “U.S.,” “Trademark,” “Registration,” “Office,” and “Agency.” Ignore them. They are fraudulent. The senders count on a handful of trusting or careless recipients out of thousands to pay their “invoice.” Don’t be one of them.
All official mailings will come from the PTO in Alexandria, Virginia. Or, if your lawyer filed the application, official word will come solely from him or her. All official PTO emails will have .uspto.gov in the sender’s address.
There’s no way to get around providing your contact information when filing for federal trademark registration. That shouldn’t dissuade you from making a filing; just be smart when doing so. Thoroughly ignoring any unsolicited invoices you receive is the best way to take the profit motive out of these scams. You also can report them to the PTO at TMFeedback@uspto.gov.