Counsel Welcome USPTO Work on False Mark Fight but Want More

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)’s trademark register contains many false trademarks and fraudulent marks–trademarks that have never been used in commerce and false registrations in which the applicant intended to deceive the office. The office has made efforts to minimize this issue, but some say they must do more to solve the problem.

The Trademark Modernization Act introduced changes to letters of protests, which challenge the registrability of pending marks without going through opposition or cancellation proceedings. Finnegan partner Danny Awdeh told Managing Intellectual Property that the letters are useful because they give parties the opportunity to prevent false marks from being registered in the first place.

Some attorneys think artificial intelligence (AI) could be crucial in helping the USPTO combat this issue. The USPTO has explored using AI to help identify digitally altered specimens and Danny said the office could further incorporate AI to identify other red flags.

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