Patent and Trademark Institute of America, also known as the Inventor's Help Line, passes themselves off as the official US patent and trademark company. The official one is actually called the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Tricky, the names are so similar.
They lead any inventor that calls in to believe that they will become rich through their services, when they actually charge thousands of dollars more than an official patent or trademark costs.
They ripped off about $700 from me for doing a patent search and creating a useless portfolio for my invention. Luckily, I didn't try to buy a patent or trademark, or I would have been taken for thousands of dollars more.
They don't tell clients that a provisional, or temporary patent, must go through a judgement and selection process before you can permanently patent it. They lead every client to believe they have been selected out of thousands right away; even though the actual official judgement process through the real USPTO takes months.
Someone also continuously contacts the client to lead them to believe they will be rich if they just pay for the patent and take their invention to trade shows. None or most of the trade shows they inform clients about are anywhere near the US. They're usually on a completely different continent, and the notice given is not ample time for the average person to be able to just pick up and leave anyways.
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