Expanding on our blog post of January 2, 2024, yet another scam has been brought to our attention—with serious consequences.

The signatory of a client was telephoned by the “Federal Trademark Office,” which requested a $400 payment for each of two applications filed a few days earlier. The caller’s telephone number showed as 571.272.4000 (made possible by caller ID spoofing software), which is the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s number for its Application Assistance Unit. The caller identified the serial numbers of the applications and stated additional fees were necessary for their processing.

The caller required the signatory’s credit card number, date of birth and last four digits of her Social Security number. The signatory gave the information and happily reported to business colleagues about the “great news” that the fees were paid and her company could now use the “TM” symbol for its marks.

There are at least three things to be aware of here: 1) any communications from the USPTO will be sent to an applicant’s authorized representative, not the applicant (unless the applicant has filed its application pro se), 2) the USPTO does not require birthdates or Social Security numbers,and 3) trademark application filing fees are paid to the USPTO at the time the application is first filed.

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