How to Sink Trademark Trawlers – CLS033

And now for something completely different…

Andrea writes:

Lately I’ve been getting all sorts of letters about my trademark. Some are from lawyers wanting to charge money for “services”.

I get others from different countries and individuals wanting thousands of dollars or other currency to ‘register’ there. But I’ve had a trademarked logo for 3 years in the US. Some of the letters look really official, but I’m not sure. Should I just ignore them?

Andrea, excellent question! You’re prompting me to do an episode on something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time: trademark predators.

Anyone who trademarks anything here—at least in the States—goes on public record. And, due to freedom of information acts and related legislation, anyone around the world can seemingly tie into this public data and use it to extort legit business owners.

We get a bunch of correspondence on our trademarks too, and I have a few choice opinions to share on the whole thing.

Let me preface today’s topic by saying first and foremost: I am NOT a trademark attorney, and do not represent a law firm. Everything I’m sharing today is for research purposes only, and based on our direct experience, that of our clients, and research.

So without further ado, let’s dive headlong into the world of trademark pirates, trawlers, and predators.

What You Will Learn

• The 3 main types of trademark mails you will receive.
• How to save time and stress by immediately knowing which trademark letter(s) is legit, and which should be shredded.
• The only two organizations (one of you do the trademark work yourself) who should ever mail you for trademark issues.

Listen UP!

Resources

US Patent and Trademark Office