The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) just issued a warning to be on the alert for “fraudulent emails that appear to originate from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) domain, @uspto.gov.”

The USPTO goes on to say:

“These emails are a scam and do not come from the USPTO. Beware that these messages:

• Spoof the USPTO email address (e.g., noreply@uspto.gov).
• Falsely claim that the USPTO has a new policy requiring separate registration of “clients” and that there is a “penalty” for not complying.
• Provide incorrect USPTO trademark filing information (e.g., incorrect fee information).”

As with any communication that appears to be from the USPTO or any third party, if you receive such an email, before responding or taking any action, you should verify its authenticity. This can be done directly through the USPTO Trademark Status & Document Retrieval (TSDR) database where you can enter the trademark application or registration number identified in the notice to view all of the Official USPTO correspondence. If what you received is not shown, it is most likely not from the USPTO.

In addition, the trademark team here at Miles & Stockbridge is always available to answer any questions about this alert or any communication regarding your trademarks or other intellectual property, so please reach out to your specific M&S contact attorney.

Opinions and conclusions in this post are solely those of the author unless otherwise indicated. The information contained in this blog is general in nature and is not offered and cannot be considered as legal advice for any particular situation. The author has provided the links referenced above for information purposes only and by doing so, does not adopt or incorporate the contents. Any federal tax advice provided in this communication is not intended or written by the author to be used, and cannot be used by the recipient, for the purpose of avoiding penalties which may be imposed on the recipient by the IRS. Please contact the author if you would like to receive written advice in a format which complies with IRS rules and may be relied upon to avoid penalties.