Join Coblentz real estate partner Danna Kozerski on September 4, 2024 during the Practising Law Institute program “Commercial Real Estate Law 2024: A West Coast Perspective.” During her session titled “Commercial Real Estate Purchase and Sale Transactions,” Danna will cover the critical provisions in purchase and sale agreements with instruction on the stages of the acquisition process, from a letter of intent through closing. For more details and to register, please click here.
Trademark scams are on the rise and include increasingly varied communications attempting to trick trademark applicants and registrants into paying fees. If you receive any communications regarding your trademarks from anyone other than your trademark attorney, it is most likely not legitimate. Below are common scams, red flags to watch out for, and best practices.
The most widespread trademark scam involves a notice seeking you to pay application, registration, or maintenance fees. These notices are formatted to mimic invoices from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (“USPTO”). Scammers pull information from pending applications or registrations approaching their maintenance deadlines and then send fake invoices seeking payment of fees. You may receive these scams via hard copy invoices or even by phone or text (if you have provided a phone number in your trademark application). A more recent trend involves a phone call from someone claiming to be a USPTO representative demanding immediate payment. Click here to see an example of a fake invoice from the “Patent & Trademark Office” with the header “PENDING TRADEMARK CANCELLATION” seeking payment of renewal fees.
Trademark Registration of Business Name
This scam purports to come from a trademark attorney offering services. It targets entities’ business names, claiming that another entity is seeking to register the same business name. This scam will include ominous language regarding violations and infringement, creating a sense of urgency to take action. Click here to see an example of a scam email regarding registration of a business name, with the alarming subject “Legal Notice: Immediate Confirmation Needed for Trademark Registration of ‘Business Name.’”
USPTO Trademark Conflict
Another type of scam seeks your immediate attention regarding a third party attempting to register your trademark. This type of scam will come from entities claiming to be trademark attorneys. They will claim that they have received an application to register your mark, and state that if they do not receive an objection from you, the third party will apply for your mark. These communications ask you to take action to avoid forfeiting your trademark rights. Click here to see an example of a scam email with the subject “Urgent Alert: Immediate Attention Needed for USPTO Trademark Conflict.”
Others
Additional scams include offering to place trademark owners’ marks in a “trademark registry” to increase brand visibility; offering to obtain a “priority trademark registration” by expediting an applicant’s pending application; offers of trademark monitoring services; and offers to provide trademark registration certificates. All of these scams will include subject lines and language asking you to take immediate action to avoid losing your trademark rights, and none of these communications are legitimate.
The USPTO’s website includes information on how to spot scams, examples of scam notices and communications, and guidance on what to do if you are scammed.
Consult your trademark attorney if you have any doubts on the authenticity of communications regarding your trademarks and before taking any action on them.
In its listing of the nation’s top legal talent, The Best Lawyers in America® 2025 edition recognized 32 Coblentz attorneys, including two as “Lawyers of the Year” and 10 as Ones to Watch®.
Employment partner Fred Alvarez was awarded the Best Lawyers® 2025 Labor Law – Management “Lawyer of the Year” and tax partner Jeff Bernstein was awarded the Best Lawyers® 2025 Litigation and Controversy – Tax “Lawyer of the Year” in San Francisco. Fred Alvarez is one of the preeminent employment lawyers in the United States. He combines a distinct blend of employment law experience, public service, and legal profession leadership and provides strategic and compliance advice to employers. Jeff Bernstein is one of the most well-known and preeminent tax attorneys in California. He brings extensive experience and close, personal attention to the representation of businesses, individuals, and families in highly sophisticated income, estate, and property tax matters, both as an advisor and as an advocate.
Categories of recognition are listed below.
2025 Best Lawyers in America Recognitions
2025 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America Recognitions
Best Lawyers lists are based entirely on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. To view the full rankings, please visit the Best Lawyers website linked here.
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:
S.F.’s Stonestown to become west side’s largest residential development in 50 years (SF Chronicle): The plan to convert the Stonestown Galleria from a suburban shopping center to an urban neighborhood with thousands of units of housing received its final approvals from the Board of Supervisors.
$20 billion affordable housing bond measure makes it on November ballot (Business Times): The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority estimated that the funding would roughly double the number of affordable homes built in the region over the next 15 years and push through affordable housing units that observers say are stuck in the pipeline.
South of Market megaprojects could pivot from office to residential under new proposal from Breed (Business Times): The legislation could open the door for thousands of new homes across swaths of the South of Market neighborhood.
New legislation would dramatically reduce S.F. transfer tax for certain projects (Business Times): The legislation would temporarily lower transfer taxes for apartment buildings backed by union pension investment.
Scott Wiener’s downtown CEQA exemption is dead, to Mayor Breed’s dismay (Business Times): The Senate Appropriations Committee voted to hold the bill in suspense, causing it to miss a critical midyear deadline.
One of S.F.’s most contentious land use battles ends with construction of new housing (SF Chronicle): The seven-story, 90-unit project will become a model — good or bad — for what it means to put dense affordable homes in a neighborhood that has been resisting density for decades.
Landmark bill creates unprecedented path to approval for housing in San Francisco (Business Times): SB 423 clears the way for some residential projects to evade the City’s lengthy approval processes.
SB 423 promises to remake housing policy across the Bay Area (Business Times): The law’s streamlining provisions for new residential development also apply to other Bay Area jurisdictions.
Newsom Orders California Officials to Remove Homeless Encampments (NY Times): The directive is the nation’s most sweeping response to the Court’s decision that gave local leaders greater authority to remove homeless campers.
After High Court Ruling, L.A. County Supervisors to Reaffirm Policy Against Jailing Homeless People (LA Times): The board considered a motion reaffirming its existing policy that County jails “will not be used to hold people arrested due to enforcement of anti-camping ordinances.”
L.A. Officials Continue to Stall Homeless Housing Project in Venice, New Lawsuit Claims (LA Times): The lawsuit alleges that by not allowing the project to proceed, the city is preventing the construction of low-income homes in an affluent neighborhood and therefore violating fair housing and equal protection laws.
Reforming California’s landmark coastal law can restore balance between housing and environment (Cal Matters): A former attorney for the California Coastal Commission says the state Coastal Act has failed to deliver on what it envisioned.
Behind the evolution of rent control’s politics (The Real Deal): Pushes to overturn state bans on rent control have been mostly futile across the nation, but have gained traction recently in Illinois and California.
