United States Trademark Center is not the Patent and Trademark Office
Once or twice a month I get a call from a client who is concerned that we did not pay the fees owing to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for filing their trademark application. After asking a few questions, it becomes apparent that the client has received a advertisement from "UNITED STATES TRADEMARK CENTER". The United States Trademark Center is NOT the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and is not a government agency. The services it provides relate to the monitoring of trademarks to ensure that other people do not register a trademark similar to those of their clients. Unfortunately, their advertisment makes it appear that it is a communication from a government agency. (The disclaimer is at the bottom and is not very clear).
There a few other companies that will market their services to trademark applicants. For example, I.D.M. compiles a registrary of brands. At $1890, it is pretty expensive to have your brand listed. However, the advertisements are not made to look like they come from a government agency.
I find it sad that someone has to market their services by making their notices look like a bill from the government. The shear abundance of calls I get from clients suggests that confusion is a real issue. I would encourage all trademark applicants to avoid doing business with the Unted States Trademark Center. If anyone has paid them mistakenly believing that they were paying a fee to a U.S. governmental agency, please contact my firm. We would love a good pro bono case. In the alternative, file a complaint with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or contact the Attorney General's office.
There a few other companies that will market their services to trademark applicants. For example, I.D.M. compiles a registrary of brands. At $1890, it is pretty expensive to have your brand listed. However, the advertisements are not made to look like they come from a government agency.
I find it sad that someone has to market their services by making their notices look like a bill from the government. The shear abundance of calls I get from clients suggests that confusion is a real issue. I would encourage all trademark applicants to avoid doing business with the Unted States Trademark Center. If anyone has paid them mistakenly believing that they were paying a fee to a U.S. governmental agency, please contact my firm. We would love a good pro bono case. In the alternative, file a complaint with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or contact the Attorney General's office.
I received the USDTC letter this day, and throwed it to garbage immediatly
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Thanks for illumunating the letter I got from ""united states trademark center" I looked at the letter (asking for $385) It appeared to be a bonafide response from a government agency. They took pains to make everything appear like a REAL document from the government. I am (gladly) sceptical and tend to read things but many people (maybe most) would have sent in the check. This is really bad. anyway, my thoughts.
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Thank you for pointing out the text in BLUE at the bottom of the solicitation page. NOT clear!
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If they (you?) have changed their (your?) form, that is a good thing. I think creating confusion is a bad thing and doing something to avoid confusion. Of course one still wants to ask - why is the text clarifying that it is not the govement at the bottom of the page? Or, why adopt a name in the first place that sounds like it is a government agency and send out a form that looks like it is a government form? Why not call yourself Trademark Monitor Company? I am only trying to help people avoid confusion and - in my humble opinion - a marketing campaign that confuses people.
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They got me. Now I have recieved a notice of abandonment and have to figure out how to get it reinstated. I have to blame myself for allowing them to take advange of me like that. But people like that should be ostracized.
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Richard,
Please give me a call. We may be able to help.
Rand
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I will definitely contact the Attorney General on this... it is pathetic and deceptive! I would hate to say I make my money deceiving people into thinking they are sending money to the government for their trademark.. what a story to tell your kids... this is how mommy or daddy makes their money.. hey why dont you grow up and deceive people like me... I think we have enough people in the world like that... It takes a very rare..real person of moral fiber to conduct business in a 100% honest manner nowdays
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I am a Japanese Intellectual Property attorney (Benrishi), and one of my Japanese client also received a letter from UNITED STATES TRADEMARK CENTER. Fortunately, the client contacted me before paying the bill, but this is too bad! I wonder if there are any ways to prevent them from sending this kind of letters..
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Not being in the US, I wouldn't know how to contact the Attorney General, or which one to contact (isn't there one in every state?). If someone could provide the contact information for the appropriate Attorney General, I will be more than happy to contact them to complain. The sender of that "Form" has gone to great lengths to make it appear to be a form from the government - someone probably has done a study and reported that people tend to skip over or just don't see blue text against a gray background, so the USTC has built that into their design. What a world.
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