Patent & Trademark Office

The business sent a letter to my client stating that my client's trademark was up for renewal. My client was suspicious, due to the return address being New York and not Washington, DC, and requested that I review it. The business name and website make it seem like they are affiliated with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The way the letter is worded also makes it seem that the letter is a notice of renewal, and that this form needs to be signed and returned in order to renew the trademark. Also, they sent the form several months in advance of the expiration, prior to any notice from the actual United States Patent and Trademark Office being sent out. The fine print does include a disclaimer that they are not actually a United States government agency and are actually a private company, but to the unsophisticated it may appear as if this is a legitimate notice that they need to renew their trademark.