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To better protect our customers from scams and fraudulent activities related to the trademark register, on August 6, 2022, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will begin requiring all USPTO.gov account holders to verify their identities as a condition for filing electronic trademark forms. When verifying identities, account holders will also need to choose a user role. This move to mandatory verification will enable the USPTO to shut down accounts used by bad actors for fraudulent filings and prevent them from creating new unverified accounts. For more information, read our latest blog by Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO Kathi Vidal and Commissioner for Trademarks David Gooder.
During the transition from a voluntary program to a mandatory one, we modified our original program to include more options and features for trademark filers. Customers now, and after August 6, 2022, have three options for verifying their identities: a paper mail-in form process and two online processes. The online self-service process uses an artificial intelligence facial recognition algorithm only to compare the selfie with the government documents, and the selfie will now be automatically deleted after 24 hours. The new online video chat option involves a conversation with a video chat agent. No selfie is required, and the video is deleted within 30 days.
We have scheduled a special webinar on July 13, from 2-3:30 p.m. ET, to give TEAS and TEASi users an overview of identity verification and an opportunity to understand its specific requirements and details, including:
- Online verification and privacy options
- Selection of a user role
- Parties authorized to make submissions through verified accounts
- Obligations of attorneys sponsoring support staff
A question-and-answer period will follow the presentation. You can submit your questions before the event to TMFeedback@uspto.gov.
For information on speakers and accessibility, and to register, visit the event page.
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