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Fact #15 TacticsEnforcement

2,900trademark owners hit by fake renewal notices from a bogus 'Patent and Trademark Bureau'

A man posing as a 'Patent and Trademark Bureau' sent fake renewal notices to more than 2,900 trademark owners, one with a deadline of September 15, 2021 for a registration not due until 2024.

The notices were built from public trademark records, so no hacking was needed. He was sentenced in September 2021 to more than four years in prison, with more than $4.5 million in restitution ordered.

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Source: United States Patent and Trademark Office · Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig. Read more: trademark solicitation scam · case file

Sources

  1. Criminal conviction in trademark renewal solicitation scam. United States Patent and Trademark Office. Accessed 2026-09-20. Supports: The defendant, the two company names, the four mail-fraud counts, the sentence of more than four years, the $4.5 million restitution and the false-expiry misrepresentation.
  2. Four-Year Sentence for Trademark Scammer. Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig. Accessed 2026-09-20. Supports: The March 2017 to January 2020 operating period, the more than 2,900 victims, the seized bank funds and checks, and the fake-deadline example.