If you forge the signature of a deceased lawyer, $2,200+ in US dollars may be invalidated!

On August 25th local time, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a "Statement of Reasons Order" to a Shenzhen company, directly pointing out that the company had violated laws and regulations and provided evidence of suspected fraud.

The USPTO said that the evidence it collected was sufficient to prove that the company provided false, fictitious or fraudulent information in thousands of trademark applications and registration records.

Specifically, the company submitted false documents through multiple USPTO.gov accounts that included the electronic signatures of attorneys Jeffrey Firestone and “Jackson George.”

It is understood that Jeffrey Stewart Firestone applied for or registered more than 8,000 trademarks, and represented the company for more than 500. He passed away in July last year, but less than a month after his death, the USPTO still received more than 300 application documents "signed" by Firestone.

In addition to impersonating Mr Firestone's identity, the company also used the signature of a "fictitious attorney".

In the company's thousands of trademark applications and registration documents, "Jackson George" is the attorney. The documents show that Jackson George has obtained a lawyer's license to practice in Illinois or New York. After verification by the USPTO, there is indeed a lawyer named "Jackson George III" in the local area, but the lawyer said that he did not provide services in this field.

Additionally, the USPTO accused the company of submitting false specimens of trademark record use.

For example, the company created the e-commerce platform 1981mall.com, but the website seemed to be only for generating samples in trademark applications and did not conduct actual sales. The specific location and contact number on the website were all incorrect information, and many links were blank pages.

The USPTO said the company must provide relevant evidence to respond by September 8, 2022, or face sanctions.

If the company is sanctioned, more than 2,200 trademarks it has applied for will be deemed invalid . What’s more, the corresponding brand registration will also be revoked by Amazon .

Some trademarks (the complete list can be obtained by adding the editor’s WeChat)

I believe everyone still remembers the Huanyi incident last year, where more than 15,000 trademarks were revoked in an instant. More than half a month ago, two trademark agents from China were sanctioned by the USPTO for forging lawyers' signatures, and more than 350 US trademarks were revoked again.

With so many scandals, why do some people still risk walking the tightrope?

People familiar with the matter said that the fee for a single trademark agency service by an American lawyer is approximately between US$50 and US$150, and the requirements for relevant application materials are relatively strict.

Regarding this scandal, the insider said that by impersonating the name of a deceased lawyer, not only can the information be used at will, but a large amount of lawyer service fees can also be saved.

In addition, people familiar with the matter said that the USPTO is now increasing its review efforts, largely because the follow-up impact of last year's Huanyi incident was too great.

As we all know, the time span of American standard registration is 8-10 months, which is a long time. Therefore, sellers must be careful not to be greedy for small profits. Not only will they waste time in vain, but they will also face other economic losses, which is not worth the loss.

USA

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