Pestworld Magazine Focusing on the Business of Pest Management
By now many of you may be aware of an organization that is soliciting NPMA members under the name “National Pest Management Professional Association” or “NPMPA”. I wanted to take a moment to provide an update on this entity’s fraudulent activities and the proactive steps we are currently taking to remedy the situation.
The “National Pest Management Association®” is a registered trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and we therefore are entitled certain proprietary rights and protections under federal and state laws. Specifically, NPMA is entitled to restrict the use of the trademark, or a confusingly similar trademark, in connection with confusingly similar products or services.
The “National Pest Management Professional Association” or “NPMPA” is not associated with NPMA in any way, and it is our belief that this entity/website is a fraudulent scam and a violation of NPMA’s federally registered trademark. We assert that the slight addition of the word “professional” is a calculated attempt to create confusion among NPMA members and potential consumers. In the last few months we have several well documented incidents of actual confusion among our members, which directly supports our assertion and legal trademark rights.
Additionally, this fraudulent entity claims to provide a certification for a fee but provides no further information or standards upon what this certification is based. This so called “certification” for pay, creates consumer confusion with NPMA’s own rigorous certification program “QualityPro®”, which is additional evidence of trademark infringement.
NPMA was made aware of this issue in February and promptly sent notices to all NPMA members via an email alert followed by inclusion in our ePestworld newsletter. We began to monitor this entity’s activities and website. Since this time we have been notified by multiple NPMA members that “NPMPA” has sent aggressive and misleading solicitations to them over the past several weeks. In response to this and after consulting with NPMA attorneys we have decided to send a formal Cease and Desist letter, demanding that this entity immediately cease and desist from any further use of “National Pest Management Professional Association” or “NPMPA” for any and all purposes. Based upon their response, we will continue to explore all legal remedies in federal and state courts and consumer protection authorities.
I want to reiterate that NPMA does not support nor do we endorse any activity being conducted by the “National Pest Management Professional Association” or “NPMPA” and would appreciate if you spread this message with NPMA members and non-members in your state and region. I would respectfully request that if you receive any solicitation or engagement by this entity that you promptly send the communication directly to Andrew Bray [email protected], to further document their activities.
I apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this issue has caused you but want to ensure you that we are working to correct the issue and effectively represent, promote and advocate for the pest management industry. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me directly.
Dominique Stumpf, CMP, CAE
Chief Executive Officer
National Pest Management Association
