By Joseph S. Heino
A rash of unsolicited patent and trademark related mailings to clients has prompted this news alert.
Specifically, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of mailings to clients with pending patent or trademark application matters. The sources of the mailings are companies that hold themselves out as governmental agencies, or companies associated with such agencies. The mailings are typically very official looking and are in the form of an invoice asking for payment of some sort of registration fee. The sources of the mailings target individuals and companies whose trademark or patent applications have appeared in official journals, such as the Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Please be advised that these companies are not associated with any official governmental office or agency and you should not pay any fees to them. Accordingly, you may safely disregard and destroy any such letters or invoices that come to you, and particularly those asking you for money. The only official communications that you will receive regarding your patent or trademark matter(s) will come from our office.
Please note that we are not recommending that you ignore any other mailings, such as “cease and desist” letters or infringement notices that you may receive from another entity or law firm. Communications of that type should be passed on to us immediately. If you have any specific questions regarding a mailing that you may have received, please contact your Davis & Kuelthau attorney or Joseph Heino, at 414.225.1452 / jheino@dkattorneys.com or Patrick Bergin, at 414.225.7563 / pbergin@dkattorneys.com.