Solicitation Alert

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Solicitation Alert

A solicitation is an offer of services, or a notice of an upcoming filing deadline with an offer of services, usually requiring a fee. Private companies often use trademark application and registration information from USPTO databases to mail or email trademark-related solicitations to trademark applicants and registrants. While these solicitations may often contain correct information (for example, that a filing is due to keep a registration active), you are never required to use the services offered by these companies.

They may offer legal services, assistance with filings, or other services. Although some services may be legitimate—for example, assistance in responding to an office action—others are not—for example, offering to record trademarks in a private registry. Beware of all types of offers and notices not from the USPTO. In March 2017, the operators of a private company—the Trademark Compliance Center—were convicted of money laundering in a trademark renewal scam.

How can I tell the difference between potentially misleading trademark offers and notices and legitimate USPTO emails and notices?

All official correspondence about your trademark application or registration will be from the “United States Patent and Trademark Office” in Alexandria, Virginia, and all emails will be from the domain “@uspto.gov.”

Don’t be fooled by company names that sound like government agencies or offers that contain government data. Some company names may include terms like “United States,” “U.S.,” “Trademark,” “Patent,” “Registration,” “Office,” or “Agency.” Some offers and notices may include official government data publicly available from USPTO records, or refer to other government agencies and sections of the U.S. Code.

So read these offers and notices carefully before deciding whether to respond. We cannot help you get a refund from a private company if you paid money or signed up for services based on a misleading offer or notice.

Are the deadlines in these offers and notices accurate?

Some offers or notices may refer to upcoming deadlines related to your application or registration. We can’t vouch for the accuracy of the deadlines in these solicitations. Be wary of any information in these offers and notices.

If you have an attorney, contact him or her about the solicitation and get advice. If you do not have an attorney, check your application or registration deadlines using our database, Trademark Status and Document Retrieval. For information about why and how to check your status, read our page on Checking the Status of an Application or Registration.

I received a misleading trademark offer or notice. What should I do?

If you receive a trademark-related offer or notice that you believe is misleading, file a consumer complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) immediately. Keep the offer or notice and the envelope; these may be requested later. Although the FTC does not resolve individual consumer complaints, as the nation’s consumer protection agency it may begin investigations and prosecutions based on widespread complaints about particular companies or business practices.

We also encourage you to contact your state consumer protection authorities. Many states, if not all, have the authority to issue investigative subpoenas and file complaints against companies engaged in misleading practices directed toward state residents.

The USPTO is not an enforcement agency. We don’t have the legal authority to stop private companies from sending trademark-related offers and notices, nor can we sue or prosecute entities that defraud or attempt to defraud our applicants and registrants. However, we can raise awareness and work closely with the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, and the United States Postal Inspection Service to combat the problem.

Private companies not associated with the USPTO often use publicly available trademark application and registration information from the USPTO’s databases to mail or e-mail trademark-related solicitations.  These companies may use names that resemble the USPTO name, and may feature, for example, one or more of the terms “United States,” “U.S.,” “Trademark,” “Patent,” “Registration,” “Office,” or “Agency.” Increasingly, some companies attempt to make their solicitations mimic the look of official government documents rather than the look of a typical commercial or legal solicitation by emphasizing official government data like the USPTO application serial number, the registration number, the International Class(es), filing dates, and other information that is publicly available from USPTO records. Many of these private company solicitations refer to other government agencies and sections of the U.S. Code and require “fees” to be paid.

You should read all trademark-related communications carefully before making a decision about whether to respond. All official correspondence from the USPTO will be from the “United States Patent and Trademark Office” in Alexandria, VA, and all e-mail communication from the USPTO will be from the domain “@uspto.gov.”

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↑1 Some of the material for this section is taken from the USPTO, “Caution: misleading notices,” available at https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks-getting-started/caution-misleading-notices. No copyright is claimed by the United States in these presentations or associated materials. Further, it is noted that including such information does not infer in any degree that the U.S. Government authorizes, endorses, or approves of this website.
↑2 Some of the material for this section is taken from the USPTO, “Rockin’ the Trademark,” available at https://www.uspto.gov/trademark/laws-regulations/rockin-trademark. No copyright is claimed by the United States in these presentations or associated materials. Further, it is noted that including such information does not infer in any degree that the U.S. Government authorizes, endorses, or approves of this website.