Welcome

Welcome to the intellectual property blog for West & Associates. As experts working on the cutting edge of legal matters we will work diligently to provide the most current information available about Patent, Trademark and Copyright Licensing, Procurment (Prosecution) and Litigation. Additional information can always be accessed directly on the United States Patent & Trademark Office website (www.uspto.gov), the U.S. Copyright Office website (www.copyright.gov) or the website for West & Associates (www.westpatentlaw.com).



Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Yet another Trademark scam

If you have a registered trademark or pending trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), you might be the target of several scam companies. Since the basic information of your trademark is public knowledge, scammers might try to confuse you and request money in order to avoid what they allege in this notification "cancellation of your mark".  The picture below is an example of this problem. 


1.     If you received a notification that requires you to make a payment for your trademark, always contact your attorney before you send payment. All your correspondence regarding  your trademark will be sent to you by your attorney. 

2.     Most of these scam notifications will state on the bottom "This is not an invoice" or "This is not a bill", therefore is does NOT require you to make a payment.

3.     Most of these scam notifications will  state that they are in fact a "private corporation" and "This service has not been endorsed or approved by the Federal Government and this offer is not being made by an agency of the Federal Government". 



There are several scams, please be very careful! As a firm we are receive scams all the time. Our clients call us questioning these "invoices". If you do not have an attorney, your correspondence regarding your Trademark will be from the USPTO only. Any other agency will be a scam.You can also contact us at info@westpatentlaw.com for a consultation.