USPTO Should Improve Controls over Examination of Trademark Filings to Enhance the Integrity of the Trademark Register

For our final report on the audit of the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO’s) efforts to improve the accuracy of the trademark register, our audit objective was to determine whether USPTO’s trademark registration process is effective in preventing fraudulent or inaccurate registrations. To address this objective, we assessed whether USPTO prevents inaccurate trademark applications from entering and being maintained on the trademark register, as well as whether USPTO is adequately managing fraud risk. Overall, we found that USPTO’s trademark registration process was not effective in preventing fraudulent or inaccurate registrations. Specifically, we found the following: I. USPTO lacks controls to effectively enforce the U.S. counsel rule; II. USPTO approved trademark filings with digitally altered or mocked-up specimens; III. USPTO did not ensure accurate identification of goods and services; and IV. USPTO lacks a comprehensive fraud risk strategy.