One of our clients has received another concerning trademark email, this time from a company calling itself Trademark Dept.

The email was sent with the subject line:

Legal Action Notice Immediate Attention Required

Always a calm and reassuring start.

The email claims that another party is preparing to file a UK trademark application for the client’s brand name and that immediate action is required to protect their rights.

There are a few issues with this.

The first is that the client already owns a registered trademark.

The second is that the email does not appear to be addressed to a named individual. It uses the company name, rather than the contact name of the person responsible for the business.

That suggests the data may have been obtained from a third party source, rather than through any meaningful prior relationship with the business.

The third is that a quick look at the website raises more questions than answers.

So, naturally, we decided to take a closer look.

The Email

The email stated:

Dear [CLIENT NAME],

This is now the FINAL communication from our side regarding the trademark rights connected to the name [CLIENT NAME].

You were previously contacted multiple times and were provided priority status ahead of the competing applicant due to your existing business presence. In addition, the trademark application form was already shared with you to secure your filing position, however to date we have still not received your confirmation or completed instructions to proceed.

Please understand that this matter has now reached a critical stage. The competing applicant is prepared to proceed immediately with the UKIPO filing, and your temporary filing priority is now on the verge of expiry.

Once the competing application is submitted, the legal position changes instantly under the UK first-to-file trademark system. At that point, the filing party may obtain enforceable nationwide rights over the branding within the registered classes, irrespective of your prior trading history, company registration, domain ownership, or informal commercial use.

Should this happen, the consequences may be extremely serious for your business operations, including but not limited to:

• Immediate cease-and-desist demands against your continued use of the name
  • Potential legal proceedings for trademark infringement
  • Forced shutdown, renaming, or restructuring of your branding activities
  • Loss of websites, domains, social media branding, advertising material, and customer goodwill
  • Significant rebranding expenses and operational disruption
  • Exposure to financial damages, legal costs, and recovery claims from the filing party

Please note clearly that once the competing filing progresses through examination and publication stages, reversing or challenging the position may become substantially more difficult, time-consuming, and financially expensive.

If you intend to secure and protect the trademark under your ownership, you must respond immediately so I may provide you with:

• The complete filing process
  • Recommended trademark classes
  • Official UKIPO filing fees
  • Registration timelines and next steps

Failure to respond now will be treated as your decision not to proceed, and we will continue accordingly with the competing applicant without any further notice or responsibility for future conflicts arising thereafter.

Please advise now how you wish to proceed by replying to this email or by calling us at [UK MOBILE NUMBER].

You are strongly advised to address this matter urgently.

The Familiar Pattern

The formula is simple.

Create urgency. Create fear. Offer the solution.

The recipient is told that another party is preparing to register their brand name. They are then warned of serious legal and commercial consequences if they do not act immediately. Finally, the sender offers to explain the filing process, classes, UKIPO fees and next steps.

If you deal with trademarks every day, the alarm bells start ringing quickly.

If you are a business owner receiving this for the first time, it can be worrying. That is exactly why these emails work.

They make you feel like you have to act before you have time to think.

The Client Already Had A Trademark

This was one of the biggest warning signs.

The client who contacted us already owns a trademark.

If someone is genuinely dealing with a UK trademark issue, one of the first things you would expect them to do is check the UK trademark register.

In this case, the email appears to have been sent without properly checking the position.

That matters, because the entire message is built around the idea that the client needs to urgently secure rights in their name. When the business already has trademark protection, that claim starts to look very shaky indeed.

The Website

The Trademark Dept website also raised concerns.

At the time of writing, the website appears to use the address:

Mission Street Executive Suites
649 Mission Street
5th Floor
San Francisco
CA 94105

That immediately stood out.

The email is about a UK trademark application and refers to the UKIPO, but the address appears to be in San Francisco.

There is nothing automatically wrong with an overseas business offering UK trademark services. However, if a company is contacting UK businesses about urgent UKIPO filings, you would expect the website to make the position clear.

Instead, the website appears to have only a UK mobile number, a US address and several pages that either do not work or look unfinished.

Again, that does not prove anything by itself.

But it is another reason to pause.

The $45 Trademark Registration Claim

Another thing that stood out was the website wording:

“Get your trademark registered in just $45”

There are two obvious problems with that.

First, the English is poor. The phrase should really be “for just $45”, not “in just $45”.

Second, and more importantly, the pricing is completely inaccurate for a UK trademark application.

A UK trademark application filed online through the UKIPO starts from £205 for one class. Additional classes cost £60 each.

So, if a website is talking about UK trademark filings, but advertising trademark registration in dollars at $45, that should immediately raise questions.

It does not match the UKIPO fee structure. It does not match the currency you would expect for a UK trademark application. And it does not explain how a UK trademark could be registered for less than the official filing fee.

That is not a small detail, that is a major warning sign.

The Contact Details

The email appears to have been sent from an address using the domain:

trademarksdept.co.uk

The website appears to use the name Trademark Dept.

At the time of writing, we have not called or emailed Trademark Dept directly, so we have not received any explanation from them.

However, based on the information available to us, the combination of a UK mobile number, US address, poor website wording, incomplete website pages and urgent UKIPO filing claims is enough for us to advise caution.

The Data Looks Scraped

Another point worth mentioning is the way the email was addressed.

The email does not appear to use a real contact name. It uses the company name.

That suggests the sender may have obtained company data from a third-party source and used it to create a targeted email.

That would also explain why the client’s existing trademark position appears not to have been properly checked.

This is one of the most frustrating parts of trademark scams.

A little bit of publicly available business data can be used to create something that feels personal, official, and urgent, even when very little actual research has been carried out.

What Should You Do If You Receive One?

If you receive an email from Trademark Dept, or any other company claiming that somebody is about to register your brand name, do not panic.

That is easy to say, of course. If someone tells you that your brand, website, social media handles, and goodwill are all at risk, the natural reaction is to try to fix it quickly.

But that is exactly when you should slow down.

• Check whether you already have a trademark
• Check the UK trademark register.
• Check who the sender is.
• Check whether the company is clearly identifiable.
• Check whether the fees make sense.
• Check whether the website looks like a genuine UK trademark service provider.
• And if you already have a trademark representative, send it to them before responding.

A genuine issue can usually withstand a sensible verification process. A pressure tactic relies on you not doing one.

Have You Received a Trademark Dept Email?

If you have received an email from Trademark Dept, or any similar organisation claiming that another party is about to file a UK trademark application for your brand, we would be interested in seeing it.

The more examples that people share, the easier it becomes to identify patterns and help others avoid potentially costly mistakes.

As always, if in doubt, ask questions first and reach for your wallet second.

If you want to discuss a scam letter or email you have received, you can make an enquiry with us below and one of our team will be happy to help.