If you own a trademark or have a trademark application pending with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), you may receive emails offering legal services related to your trademark.
My advice is simple:
Before paying anyone, check your trademark's actual status with the USPTO yourself.
I recently received an email from Trademark Swyft regarding my Craypoe Productions trademark. There was just one major problem with what they told me.
My Craypoe Productions trademark was already registered.
I don't mean that I simply assumed it was registered or misunderstood something I saw online. I had already downloaded the official trademark registration certificate. I have the certificate.
Yet the email described my trademark as though it were still near the beginning of the application process.
What Trademark Swyft Told Me
The email stated:
“According to the current USPTO status, your application has successfully met the minimum filing requirements and has been accepted for processing.”
It went on to say:
“At this time, the application has not been assigned to a USPTO Examining Attorney, so the substantive legal examination has not yet begun.”
That would certainly sound important to someone unfamiliar with the trademark process.
There was just one problem.
It wasn't the current status of my trademark.
Craypoe Productions had already made it through the trademark process and was registered.
In fact, I had already downloaded the registration certificate issued for the trademark.
An examining attorney hadn't merely been assigned. The examination process was already behind me.
Then Came the Sales Pitch
After describing my trademark as though examination hadn't even begun, Trademark Swyft recommended that I obtain legal representation.
They offered me two options.
The first was six months of attorney representation for $700.
The second—and recommended—option was $1,200 for “Complete Registration Representation.”
According to their email, that $1,200 option included:
“Full legal representation from examination through issuance of the Certificate of Registration.”
Think about that for a moment.
I had already downloaded that Certificate of Registration.
Yet I was being offered a $1,200 service that supposedly included representing me through the process leading to the issuance of the very certificate I already possessed.
That's not some insignificant technical detail.
That's the entire reason I was supposedly being offered the service.
Why This Bothers Me
I don't expect every company to be perfect. People make mistakes. Databases can contain outdated information. Automated emails can go out when they shouldn't.
But when you're asking someone for hundreds or thousands of dollars for professional trademark services, I believe you have a responsibility to verify the basic facts before telling that person they need those services.
The email specifically said:
“According to the current USPTO status…”
That wording matters.
If you're going to tell me what my current USPTO status is while simultaneously asking me for $1,200 based upon that status, I expect you to actually know my current USPTO status.
In this case, I did.
The USPTO had already issued my registration certificate, and I had already downloaded it.
And that's why I didn't pay.
This Wasn't My First Uncomfortable Experience
This email also didn't arrive in a vacuum.
I had previously dealt with Trademark Swyft regarding trademark services and was presented with an additional offer costing thousands of dollars.
That experience had already made me cautious.
So when this latest email arrived, I didn't simply assume that the information being presented to me was correct. I compared what I was being told with what I already knew about my trademark.
I'm glad I did.
Why I Suspect Something More Than a Mistake
This is where I want to clearly distinguish between what I can document and what I personally suspect.
I can document that my Craypoe Productions trademark was already registered.
I can document that I had already downloaded its registration certificate.
I can document the email I received from Trademark Swyft.
I can document that the email told me substantive examination had not yet begun.
And I can document that the same email offered me a $1,200 service that included representation through issuance of the Certificate of Registration.
Those are the facts upon which I am basing my opinion.
Could this have resulted from outdated information, an automated system, human error or some other mistake?
Yes. That's possible.
I cannot read the mind of the person who sent the email, and I cannot independently establish what Trademark Swyft intended.
But based upon these circumstances and my previous experiences with the company, I personally suspect that this was an attempt to get me to pay for legal services I did not need. It raises, in my mind, the question of whether I was being deliberately misled for financial gain.
That is my personal conclusion based upon the communications I received.
I am not claiming that a court, law-enforcement agency, the USPTO or any other government agency has determined that Trademark Swyft committed fraud against me.
I am explaining what happened to me and why it made me suspicious.
Readers can examine the facts and reach their own conclusions.
Why Knowing My Trademark Status Mattered
Imagine how differently this might have gone if I hadn't been following my trademark application myself.
Someone unfamiliar with the trademark process could read phrases like “USPTO Examining Attorney,” “substantive legal examination,” “Office Action,” “statutory interpretation” and “U.S.-licensed Intellectual Property Attorney” and understandably become concerned.
Then immediately afterward, they're presented with a solution:
$700 or $1,200.
That's precisely why trademark owners should independently verify what they're being told before spending money.
In my case, I didn't need to wonder whether my trademark might eventually become registered.
I already had the certificate.
That one fact changed everything about how I viewed the email.
The Lesson for Other Trademark Owners
My experience taught me something worth sharing with other creators, entrepreneurs and small-business owners.
Don't assume an official-looking trademark email means you owe someone money or need the service they're selling.
When someone contacts you offering trademark-related services:
- Check your trademark directly through the USPTO.
- Verify every claim being made about its current status.
- Compare what you're being told with the official USPTO record.
- Don't allow complicated legal terminology to pressure you into immediately paying.
- Determine exactly what you're being asked to purchase.
- Ask yourself whether that service is actually necessary at your current stage.
- If you genuinely need legal advice, consider consulting an independent U.S.-licensed trademark attorney.
A few minutes of research could potentially save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
Keep Your Own Records
I also recommend keeping copies of important trademark documents and correspondence.
Save important emails.
Save USPTO correspondence.
Keep your serial and registration information.
And when your registration certificate becomes available, download it and keep your own copy.
That's exactly what I did.
So when I received an email describing my trademark as though it hadn't even begun substantive examination, I didn't have to rely on someone's sales pitch to determine what was happening.
I had the registration certificate sitting in my own files.
Knowledge Protects You
This experience is also why I believe entrepreneurs and content creators need to understand the business side of what they do.
You don't need to become a trademark attorney.
You don't need to memorize trademark law.
But if you're going to build brands and intellectual property, you should understand enough about the process to recognize when something doesn't make sense.
I knew Craypoe Productions was already registered.
I had the certificate proving it.
So when I received an offer asking me to pay $1,200 for representation through a registration process that had already been completed, I knew enough to question it.
Based upon my experiences, I will not be purchasing additional services from Trademark Swyft.
And I'm sharing my experience because other trademark owners may eventually receive communications that leave them with the same kinds of questions.
If you're protecting your own brand, don't blindly trust an email simply because it contains legal terminology, mentions the USPTO or offers access to an attorney.
Verify the information yourself before you open your wallet.
Your trademark is valuable.
So is your money.
Bob Craypoe
Founder of Craypoe Productions
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