The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has issued an alert about an ongoing email scam involving messages that appear to originate from the USPTO domain (@uspto.gov), but are, in fact, sent by third parties for fraudulent purposes. The USPTO advises trademark owners to be aware that scam messages may:

• Spoof the USPTO email address (e.g., noreply@uspto.gov)
• Falsely claim that the USPTO has a new policy requiring separate registration of “clients” and that there is a “penalty” for not complying.
• Provide incorrect USPTO trademark filing information (e.g., incorrect fee information)

The USPTO has a solicitations webpage that provides a list of examples of solicitations from entities unaffiliated with the USPTO, including known scams, potentially misleading offers and notices, and other non-USPTO solicitations about which the USPTO has received inquiries or complaints.

In light of the increase in fraudulent emails, the USPTO urges all trademark owners and proceedings participants to carefully review any email correspondence that appears to be sent from the USPTO “@uspto.gov” domain and to double-check the information contained in that message by contacting their attorney or independently verifying the information as contained on the USPTO Trademark Status & Document Retrieval database.

We strongly encourage any client receiving email correspondence that appears to be from the USPTO or any third party to not respond directly to such emails. Instead, contact our office to investigate the correspondence and advise on the appropriate course of action. If we filed your application or are representing you in any trademark proceeding, all official correspondence from the USPTO will come to us directly and not to you.

If you have any questions, please contact us.

Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli attorney recognized for excellence in legal community and profession

Edwardsville, ILL., August 10, 2020 – Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli is pleased to announce that partner Kevin Green has been awarded the 2020 Illinois State Bar Association’s (ISBA) Young Lawyer of the Year Award.

The ISBA Young Lawyers Division presents this award each year to two lawyers in the state who have excelled within the legal community and profession, one who practices inside Cook County and one who practices outside Cook County. Nominees must exemplify skill and strong character, be members in good standing with the ISBA and under the age of 36. The recipients are selected based on excellence in advocacy, counseling or litigation; contributions to the advancement of the Bar of Illinois and the legal profession generally; and service to the community.

Green is a partner at Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, where he has worked since 2010. His practice areas include business and commercial litigation as well as class action litigation. Last year, Green successfully petitioned the Illinois Supreme Court and obtained a unanimous reversal of the appellate court decision.  Green was also appointed as Special State’s Attorney to represent the Madison County Auditor in a dispute with the Madison County Board over privacy rights of citizens. Green, along with partner Tom Rosenfeld, has also litigated many large class actions over the years, including a class action against the St. Louis Rams that resulted in a $24 million settlement.

Dennis Orsey, President of the Illinois State Bar Association,  presents Kevin Green with the Young Lawyer of the Year Award.

“Kevin is an outstanding lawyer, and we’re proud to have him as one of our partners,” said partner and founder Mark Goldenberg.  “Kevin joined our firm after completing law school and passing the bar and has shown outstanding leadership in his progress to partner. He’s achieved significant results for our clients in a number of cases, and I’m certain that he will continue to utilize his talent throughout the rest of his career.”

Green graduated from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. Prior to joining the firm, he worked in commercial litigation law firms in Chicago and San Francisco as well as for the City of Chicago Department of Law; the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Illinois and the United States House of Representatives Committee on Small Business in Washington, D.C.

For more information about Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli., please visit www.goldenbergheller.com or call (800) 782-8492.

About Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, P.C.

Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, P.C. is a full-service law firm specializing in the areas of business and commercial law, mesothelioma, personal injury, class actions, trusts and estates and intellectual property. Based in Edwardsville, Illinois, the firm has over 30 years of experience practicing law in the Metro East and St. Louis area and has won over a billion dollars in settlements for its clients. Their main office can be located at 2227 S. State Route 157, Edwardsville, Illinois.

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On June 5, 2020, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (the “Act”) was signed into law.  The Act provides greater flexibility to businesses that obtained loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) by:

• Extending the covered period during which a loan recipient may use PPP funds for certain expenses while remaining eligible for loan forgiveness from eight weeks to twenty-four weeks;
• Extending the deadline to rehire laid off or furloughed workers from June 30th to December 31^st, 2020; and
• Extending the initial two-year loan term to five years.

The Act also increases the percentage of PPP loan proceeds that may be used on qualifying non-payroll costs from 25% to 40%.  At the same time, however, the Act provides that PPP recipients must use at least 60% of the loan amount for payroll costs in order to receive forgiveness of a PPP loan.  This represents a significant departure from the Small Business Administration’s PPP regulations, under which a failure to meet the prior 25% payroll-cost threshold did not completely disqualify a business from receiving forgiveness of a PPP loan.

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We are currently investigating claims on behalf of consumers who have purchased Swiss Diamond nonstick cookware in 2020, 2021, or 2022. Many of these items were advertised as “PFOA-free.” We are investigating reports of toxic chemicals in the cookware.

If you purchased Swiss Diamond nonstick cookware during this period and wish to learn more, please contact us at 618-656-5150 (just ask to speak to someone about Swiss Diamond) or simply fill out the form below:

About Our Firm

Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, P.C. practices in the area of consumer protection.  Find out more information about our firm here.

This webpage contains advertising material.  The information provided on this website is for general, informative purposes and should not be interpreted to indicate that a certain result will occur in any reader’s specific legal situation.  The information on this website is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.  A preliminary communication made via the internet, mail, fax, or telephone does not create an attorney-client relationship or provide any of the protections afforded by that relationship.  Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, P.C. is responsible for the content of this page. Disregard this solicitation if you have already engaged a lawyer in connection with the legal matter referred to in this solicitation. You may wish to consult your lawyer or another lawyer instead of us. The exact nature of your legal situation will depend on many facts not known to us at this time. You should understand that the advice and information in this solicitation is general and that your own situation may vary. This statement is required by rule of the Supreme Court of Missouri.

On May 13, 2020, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) issued guidance regarding a borrower’s good-faith certification concerning the necessity of a Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loan.  All borrowers who, together with their affiliates, receive PPP loans with an original principal amount of less than $2 million will be deemed to have made the required certification in good faith.  Moreover, if the SBA determines that a borrower who obtained more than $2 million dollars through a PPP loan lacked an adequate basis for the required certification, the SBA will not pursue administrative enforcement or referrals to other agencies based on the SBA’s determination with respect to the certification if the borrower repays the amount of the loan in full.

The full text of the SBA’s guidance is available here:   https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2020-05/Paycheck-Protection-Program-Frequently-Asked-Questions_05%2013%2020.pdf