<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)">
<style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Helvetica;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Aptos;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;
mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#467886;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:11.0pt;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang="EN-US" link="#467886" vlink="#96607D" style="word-wrap:break-word">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal">A report regarding the USPTO’s handling of trademark fraud was released by the GAO last week. I have not seen it reported anywhere.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Of course it will not surprise many readers of the listserv, but the U.S. Government Accountability Office made it official in a report sent to the judiciary committees of the House and Senate, as well as the Secretary Commerce: the GAO
recommends “improving USPTO's fraud risk management to help address the problem” of registrations that “may include false or inaccurate claims and could be fraudulent.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#1B1B1B;letter-spacing:.45pt;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#1B1B1B;letter-spacing:.45pt;background:white">Some key findings:
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#1B1B1B;letter-spacing:.45pt;background:white">The USPTO has not conducted a comprehensive fraud risk assessment of the trademark register or designed a fraud
risk strategy. Implementing leading practices from GAO's Fraud Risk Framework would allow the USPTO to comprehensively consider fraud risks, establish more effective controls, and fully articulate a tolerable level of fraud risk while considering the costs
and benefits of potential control activities. GAO also found that the USPTO's current data systems do not allow the agency to: (1) assess the effectiveness of current trademark fraud prevention programs and (2) implement new technologies for identifying fraud.
Academics told GAO that computational tools such as predictive analytics could help the USPTO identify trademark applications with false or inaccurate information more effectively.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Details and full report from the GAO here: <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-106533">https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-106533</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Erik Pelton<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>