- USPTO issues page with advice for victims of Pakistan-based Abtach Ltd
- Company allegedly operated fraudulent low-cost trademark filing agencies
- Advice includes filing new applications and contacting bank for possible refunds
Just weeks after a major anti-fraud crackdown targeting Pakistan-based company Abtach Ltd, the USPTO has confirmed that thousands of trademark filings are now suspended and issued guidance for victims. The move is a reminder of the significant impact caused by the allegedly fraudulent entities operated by Abtach, the most notorious being Trademark Terminal.
Early last month the USPTO published a show-cause order to senior executives of Abtach Ltd and its subsidiaries 360 Digital Marketing and Retrocube. The companies were accused of violating the USPTO’s rules of practice related to dozens of low-cost trademark filing and design agencies, with a claim that the executives engaged in “an egregious scheme to deceive and defraud applicants for federal trademark registrations by improperly altering official USPTO correspondence, overcharging application filing fees, misappropriating the USPTO’s trademarks, and impersonating the USPTO”. The order listed thousands of trademark applications that were filed by entities allegedly operated by Abtach, and stated an intention to suspend them.
Now, the USPTO has published an update in which it confirms the thousands of applications listed in the order are now suspended. To that end, it urges applicants…
