What’s happening
Owners of U.S. trademark applications and registrations are receiving fraudulent emails that appear to originate from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) domain, @uspto.gov. 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).
What you should do
If you receive any communication you believe is from the USPTO, you can double check it by going to our Trademark Status & Document Retrieval (TSDR) database and entering the trademark application or registration number. Your TSDR file will show outgoing communication from the USPTO, except the application filing receipt. If the letter or email you received does not appear in your TSDR file, then with few exceptions, it is not from the USPTO.
If you have received one of these fraudulent emails or paid money in response to such an email scam, you may file a consumer complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
Next steps
Visit our solicitations webpage for a list of examples of solicitations from entities unaffiliated with the USPTO, including known scams, potentially misleading offers and notices, and other non-USPTO solicitations about which we have received inquiries or complaints. If you received a solicitation from a company not on our list, email us at TMScams@uspto.gov. Include copies of the solicitation and, if applicable, the envelope it came in, so we can assess whether to add the sender to our examples list. We do not need to be notified about companies already on the list.