Watch Out for Trademark Registration Scams

From Trademarkology:

One of the facts of modern life is that you will be the target of scams. Sometimes it’s the son of the former defense minister of Nigeria. Sometimes it’s someone trying to trick you into paying them money to do something with your trademark.

U.S. trademark registrations have to be renewed every 10 years or they expire. Most trademark owners are somewhat aware of that fact, but many are somewhat vague on the subject and don’t know just what to expect when the time for renewal rolls around.

If your trademark is registered and approaching renewal time, you may well receive a very official-looking notice that seems like it might be from the government and has something to do with paying for renewal of your registration. It may have details about your registration, including the number, the registered mark, and the renewal date.

Read more.

If you would like to submit content or write an article for the Intellectual Property Section, please email Kara Sikorski at ksikorski@indybar.org.