New for 2024: If your business has an online presence and a public phone number, scammers are calling pretending to be the USPTO's Trademark Assistance Center and are even spoofing the Trademark Assistance Center's phone number. They are asking you to pay "government fees" over the phone. The USPTO will never call you on the phone and ask for money.
The information provided with a trademark application to the U.S Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is public record. There are a large number of unscrupulous organizations that take this data and mail invoices for worthless services or send documents that mimic the look and feel of official government documents.
You can safely ignore any paper letter you receive that includes 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 trademark application records.
Typically, these scams present offers related to (1) international trademark registration; (2) trademark monitoring services; (3) to record trademarks with U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and (4) to "register" trademarks in the company's own private registry.
These companies may use names that resemble the USPTO name, including, for example, one or more of the terms "United States," "U.S.," "Trademark," "Patent," "Registration," "Office," or "Agency." Many refer to other government agencies and sections of the U.S. Code. Most require "fees" to be paid.
Here is a typical example:
Click on the links below to see a few more examples: