Recently, I received a new trademark solicitation regarding a trademark registration renewal. The company calls itself “Patent & Trademark Office” with an address in New York, NY. See the image of their mailing that I scanned below.
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 $1690 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?
Note that when I last blogged about this offer, 16 months ago, the fee was $975.
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? Note that the address appears to be a rented Regus office space.
Their website appears to be patenttrademarkoffice.us, but the domain was not working when I checked it this week.
Beware of such scams. Read the fine print. Contact your attorney. Report scams to the FTC and USPTO.
For more information, see:
- How to avoid being taken by a trademark scam
- WARNING: Non-USPTO Solicitations That May Resemble Official USPTO Communications
THANKS SO MUCH !
I got the same in the mail and only looked it up as I got another bill for $1,500 as well
Karl
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today got one from the same company but address at 387 Park ave.… also a Regus office space! I got a great deal though.. only $850!
I got one today and the charge is $1650 — and the address is 19125 Northcreek Parkway Suite 120 in Bothell, WA 98011
Is this where I play the “BS” card? I’m not falling for this. Plus, my “logo” was stretched horizontally which was the first clue.
Yep I got the exact same thing today, same amount and same address.
Scumbags. I’d love to see someone from 20/20 or whatever stake out that PO box (for the mail) or the office suite and ask them some hard questions.
just got the same letter address is Bothell, WA for 1610.00 renewal for a trademark I have and was registered in 2020. Why would I “renew” 3 years later??
we received a letter a couple of weeks ago address is
19125 North Creek Parkway suite 120 bothell wa 98011
They also use today auto glass as there business address. I went there and they said they have never heard of Today auto glass. It’s a scam to get money for auto glass and never showed up after payment.
I just got this. I know the real website is uspto.gov and located in Washington DC. I knew this was fake and felt like googling it and glad I found this article. I am an invent help victim so I learned the hard way there are lots of companies trying to scam patents and trademarks fees out there.