WASHINGTON - The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued sanctions against a foreign filing firm and terminated over 52,000 applications and registrations connected to the firm, a press release stated by USPTO. 
The firm submitted documents on behalf of others without the proper authority or qualifications.

To conceal this, they:

• Sought out the cooperation of US-licensed attorneys and then misused their credentials and faked their electronic signatures;
• Repeatedly signed documents using other people’s names;
• Submitted fake specimens of use and;
• Misused USPTO.gov accounts.

By removing these records from the trademark register, the USPTO is helping ensure the register accurately reflects trademarks that are actually being used in commerce.