Trademark owners are inundated with trademark spam and may not recognize an official-looking invoice as fraudulent. However, when trademark owners do delete suspicious emails or toss spam snail mail, they may avoid immediate harm, but they also deprive enforcement agencies of crucial data.
Spam targeting trademark owners is on the rise and becoming increasingly sophisticated. As trademark practitioners, maybe we need to do more than proactively educate clients about spam. Should we also be submitting that spam to the FTC and the USPTO on our clients' behalf?
For my own trademarks, I received invoices from two separate companies. One, from a company named MPO in Savannah, GA, claimed I owed $1,340 for a "Trademark Publication Fee" for each of my marks. The other company, STP in Fresh Meadows, NY, claimed the same but for $1,460 per mark. Last week, a client for whom I recently filed a mark received a similar invoice from MPO. It's confusing to clients, even when they've been warned about spam.
It gets worse. These spammers are not only trolling new application filings but also upcoming maintenance filings.
Imagine your client has a small trademark portfolio, perhaps a single registered mark, and you haven't spoken since registration almost five years earlier. Obviously, it's time to notify the client of the upcoming filing. That mark is entering the filing-date range for Sections 8 & 15 (between the fifth and sixth years after registration). However, in advance of the filing window, your client receives an official-looking notice/invoice from a company stating that it is time to file and that they must submit, say, $1,800, and sign below.
There is, in fact, an attorney associated with that notice; it is a legitimate service, an aggressive, predatory service (if you can call it a service). The client, whose trademark was registered five years earlier, is caught off guard, believes it is an official notice, signs the form, and pays the invoice. The "service" files a Section 8 (but no Section 15, as you may have done) and offers no advice, strategy, relationship, or guidance on what the client should expect next regarding their mark. And worse, the attorney at the predatory service is now listed with the USPTO as the attorney of record for your client. Surprise!
Perhaps trademark practitioners need to go a step further and actively report the spam our clients receive to both the FTC and the USPTO. A coordinated effort by law firms, consistently flagging and documenting these schemes, may help regulators and the USPTO tighten enforcement and reduce the volume of trademark spam that is plaguing our clients and harming their marks and brands.
Immediate Steps for Trademark Owners if You Suspect a Scam
If you receive a suspicious trademark-related communication, or think you've already responded to one, take these steps:
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Stop and preserve evidence. Do not send any payment or personal information. Save the email, letter, text, voicemail, screenshots, invoices, and payment confirmations. The USPTO specifically advises keeping solicitations, emails, receipts, and screenshots of transactions to document what happened.
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Verify your status independently. Use the USPTO's TSDR system to check your application or registration and confirm any real deadlines or office actions. If you're unsure, contact the USPTO's Trademark Assistance Center or your trademark attorney.
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Talk to a trusted advisor. The FTC encourages consumers to talk with someone they trust as soon as they suspect a scam; an outside perspective can help you spot red flags you may have missed.
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Report the incident to both the USPTO and the FTC. Reporting supports enforcement and helps protect other business owners in similar positions.
How to Report Trademark Scams to the USPTO
The USPTO has established clear channels for reporting trademark-related scams and imposters:
- Email TMScams@uspto.gov. Send an email describing what happened and attach copies of the suspicious communications. If the scam was by email, forward the original message as an attachment so the USPTO can see technical headers and routing information.
- Contact the Trademark Assistance Center (TAC). If you're unsure whether a communication is genuine or need guidance:
- Call the TAC at 1-800-786-9199, or
- Email TrademarkAssistanceCenter@uspto.gov. TAC staff can help you confirm whether a message is legitimate and direct you to appropriate resources.
When you report, include your application or registration number, a timeline of events, any payments made (amount, method, recipient, date), and all supporting documents. This detail helps the USPTO identify repeat offenders and take broader action.
How to Report Trademark Scams to the FTC
The FTC focuses on fraud and deceptive practices that affect consumers and businesses nationwide. It encourages anyone who spots a trademark-related scam to file a report:
- Online via ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov or the complaint portal at ftc.gov/complaint and submit details about the scam.
- Choose the category that best fits (often "Imposter scams" or "Billing and collection").
- Explain that the scam involved trademark filings and impersonation of the USPTO or a legal service.
- Attach or describe the communications and any losses.
- By phone. You can call the FTC's Consumer Response Center at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) to report fraud or ask for guidance.
If the scam appears to involve a foreign entity or cross-border conduct, you may also report at econsumer.gov, which coordinates consumer protection agencies internationally.
The FTC emphasizes that even if you didn't lose money, your report can help stop the same scam from harming others.
Why Reporting Matters
Many trademark owners delete suspicious messages and move on. While that avoids immediate harm, it also deprives enforcement agencies of crucial data. Reports to the USPTO and FTC support:
- Pattern tracking and investigations. Multiple complaints about the same sender, domain, phone number, or tactic help regulators spot organized schemes and target enforcement effectively.
- Sanctions and rule changes. The USPTO has already used information about widespread fraud to sanction bad actors and terminate large numbers of applications tied to unauthorized filing firms. Continued reporting supports similar interventions.
- Better public guidance. Complaint data informs future alerts, blog posts, and educational materials aimed at protecting trademark owners, particularly small businesses that may be filing on their own for the first time.
In short, speaking up when you see trademark scams isn't just self-protection; it's a contribution to cleaning up the system.
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