On My Mind Blog

Brand owners who seek federal trademark protection in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) have become targets for impersonators, imposters, scammers and others who use deceptive practices to seek to defraud them of funds.

This article is another Scam Alert to add to the ones we have circulated:

1. Unofficial Trademark Solicitations-February 3, 2015
2. What to Do When the Mail Smells Phishy: Spotting and Stopping a Domain Name Scam in its Tracks-August 10, 2021, and
3. Beware of Scam Trademark Notifications-November 2, 2021

In succession planning, it is easy to forget that intangible intellectual property assets, such as trademarks, copyrights, patents, and publicity rights, require specific attention.  Otherwise, when a decedent’s intellectual property is implicitly mentioned in a will or trust, but is not expressly bequeathed or transferred, an ownership dispute may erupt.