USPTO Issues Warning About Unsolicited Communications

Posted on May 21, 2009 by Josh MacFadden

In a further development of an earlier story relating to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office ("CIPO"), the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") has now issued a warning to customers regarding unsolicited communication from third parties requesting fees for certain services.The USPTO invites recipients of unsolicited correspondence concerning your trademarks to contact the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") where you receive correspondence from a party other than the USPTO or your agent requesting fees relating to your trademark applications and registrations.The USPTO warning is similar to the warning recently issued by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office ("CIPO") concerning such unsolicited correspondence.  If you receive such materials it is advisable to contact your agent and/or the Client Service Centre at 1-866-997-1936 (or at 819-934-0554 for international calls).

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Warning Issued Re. Non-Solicited Invoices

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Josh MacFadden

Recently, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office ("CIPO") issued a warning on the Trademarks mainpage to advise regarding the receipt of non-solicited invoices. 

Typically, such "invoices" are correspondence disseminated to trademark applicants and/or registrants once their contact information has been published (i.e. on the CIPO online database or in the Trade-marks Journal) to request participation in or contribution to an upcoming online or print publication of trademarks.  Nevertheless, such correspondence is often confusingly similar to billing invoices and loaded with small print.  Consequently, many unwitting recipients may inadvertently submit payment for the service without necessarily appreciating the nature of the request or its potential utility for their business. 

The most prudent course of action to take when an unsolicited piece of correspondence is received (particularly when it appears as an 'invoice'), is to contact your agent and provide a copy of the material for review.  Alternatively, CIPO has advised that recipients may also contact the Client Service Centre at 1-866-997-1936 (or at 819-934-0554 for international calls) prior to responding to such correspondence.

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