If WTP sent you mail about publication in a trademark directly (see image below), beware. Trash it. It is a scam. The cost of the scam has changed over the years, but the essence of this trick is the same. For $ 1420.00, WTP offers publication in its “directory,” which has no real value. And their form, sent to recent trademark applicants, looks official.

If you have been taken by this scam, I suggest that you file a complaint with the FTC, write a letter to the USPTO Commissioner, and contact law enforcement.

If you think you might have received a trademark scam letter or
solicitation, here are some tips:

  • 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. The USPTO
    Trademark Assistance Center can be reached at 800-786-9199 or
    via email at TrademarkAssistanceCenter@uspto.gov.
  • Read the fine print. I know, the fine print is often quite difficult to
    read (intentionally), but it usually makes it clear that the letter is
    not from the government and it describes what the costs or
    invoice allegedly cover.
  • 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. Do they respond?
  • 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.
    Check the list of unofficial solicitations compiled by the World
    Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Beware of such scams. Read the fine print. Contact your attorney. Report scams to the FTC and USPTO.

For more on such scams, see:

For about the various scams targeting trademark owners, see


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17 thoughts on “Publication scam from WTP targeting trademark filers continues

  1. I just received my new “trash liner” in the mail, read the small print and decided to look up the validity online. Thank you for posting this needed information.

  2. Glad you posted this. I received a bill today and decided to research it. They didn’t provide a return envelope on a telephone number to contact them so my “fraud warning bells” went off.

  3. Just got one of these exact letters, several weeks after I filed my trademark application. Clearly a scam; their website says nothing about what they do, it just has definitions of what a trademark is. Toss it away

  4. Thank you for initiating this forum. I just got a mail from this said company name “WTP” asking me to pay $1420. Luckily, i checked the name and found that you had posted this for all of us to see. I wonder why the Government hasn’t done anything about this type of issue already

  5. I am wondering how these individuals get this information to begin with. I was skeptical and did my research which brought me to this page. Thanks for being vigilant in keeping the public informed about these types of scams.

  6. If you paid for a TM Registration and the company did file on my behaf. However i got the WTP letter and I asked the company assisting me about the letter. They said that I wouldnt pay WTP . I could just pay the 1420. 00 to him over the phone.

    Tell me what you think.
    Thanks for your help.

    Lc

  7. Thanks for the heads up. I seriously was preparing to have a uncomfortable conversation with the person I recently did business with.

  8. Thank you for posting this. I got the exact letter in the mail yesterday as well. I had worked with a law firm about registering my trademark and it wasn’t this company. The amount was $1420 as well.

    Thank you again!

  9. I was a victim of this scam, this company took my hard earned money, to be very honest it was not easy meeting different acclaimed recovery person for help to recover my money, as God may have it, I was lucky to meet Alex crypto FX at writeme DT com (he’s email). Who helped recover my lost funds in just 48, I almost thought I have lost it all until I met him.
    I personally recommend him to you.

  10. Thank you for this clarification. Just got a letter in the mail from WTP. Contacted the company that I applied with and they also informed me of this scam.

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