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February 06, 2017

"Secondary Market Annuities" | Efforts To Trademark Failed Twice, Rejected by USPTO

by Structured Settlement Watchdog

As I've previously opined "Secondary Market Annuity" is a scam label for an investment of a sum of money in structured settlement payment rights, which is indisputably not an annuity and which brings more risk and a lack of regulatory oversight than a real annuity, that brings suitability for injury victims into question.

There have been two attempts to trademark the term "secondary market annuities" first by an individual and then an entity out of the Portland Oregon area and the descriptions filed with the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) in those failed applications are most interesting.

The first was by Thomas B Hamlin of Somerset Wealth filed 04/10/2012    USPTO File #85593963

Annuity services, namely, account and investment administration; Annuity services, namely, account and investment administration and the investment and distribution of annuity funds; Annuity underwriting; Financial services, namely, providing an investment option available for variable annuity and variable life insurance products; Investment management of and distribution of annuities; Investment management of and distribution of variable annuities; Issuance and administration of annuities; Underwriting, issuance and administration of annuities. The USPTO denied the registration

An identical submission was filed by jointly by Tyson Wright and SMA Hub Inc. USPTO File # 86251800.

The USPTO rejected SMA Hub's attempt on similar grounds.  In its July 23, 2014 office action rejecting SMA Hubs filing, the USPTO cites Marketwatch "Here, the attached definition from Marketwatch.com shows that the wording “secondary market annuity” refers to a type of investment in which an investor purchases “the right to receive the contractual guarantees (typically in payment form) from the original annuity policy.”

The USPTO office action in response to the SMA Hub filing appears to question the tie-in between the description in the filing with what is actually being sold.

"The applicant must respond to the following questions for the application record:

  • Do applicant’s services feature or relate to secondary market annuities?
    1. If so, please explain.
  • Do applicant’s promotional materials mention secondary market annuities?
    1. If so, please explain and provide a copy of such materials. This may take the form of a fact sheet, an instruction manual, and/or advertisements or promotional materials. If such materials are not available, the applicant must submit a detailed description of the investments and annuities features by applicant’s services or which are the subject matter of applicant’s services".

SMA Hub never responded and the filing was abandoned.

Exhibits attached to the USPTO office action had this to say about "secondary market annuities" (the un-annuity)

"My bottom line: Steer clear of the product.  The time-honored insight holds: A higher yield means greater risks. I don't see anything "safe" about a secondary market annuity for the average retiree".   The Skinny on Secondary Market Annuities Chris Farrell Economics editor Marketplace, February 10, 2012, in response to a retiree who asked "I am retired and would like to safely increase income. What is a secondary market annuity? Is it a suitable vehicle for putting a portion of retirement funds to safely increase guaranteed retirement income?"

"But as is so often the case when investments are promoted on the basis of high yield, these deals are unsuitable for most investors. Even in the rare situations when they might make sense, you must proceed with extraordinary caution"  Jason Zweig Wall Street Journal. Another Can't-Miss Deal That Can Miss Spectacularly

 

 

 

Posted at 12:57 PM in Oregon Structured Settlements, Secondary Market Annuities | Not Annuities | Don't Be Fooled, Secondary Market For Structured Settlement Payment Rights, Structured Settlement Factoring, Structured Settlement Factoring News |

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  • What is a Structured Settlement? What You Need to Know
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  • Rated Ages and Structured Settlement Cost
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  • Treasury Funded Structured Settlements
    Treasury Funded Structured Settlements are a settlement option for the most conservative using the OTHER permissible qualified funding asset under IRC 130(d), United States Treasury Bonds in addition to, or instead of, structured settlement annuities. Treasury Funded Structured Settlements can also be used to fund installment sales, also known as structured sales and other non qualified structured settlements.
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    Use the Taxable Equivalent Yield chart to help compare the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of a structured settlement to other alternative or complementary investments. Need help with the chart? Call 4structures.com® LLC at 888-325-8640
  • Structured Settlement Payments | Types of Structured Settlements 2024
    Ways You Can Structure Your Settlement Payments in 2024. With a structured settlement you can have more than one type of payment in a single contract. Different types of structured settlement payments can be customized and combined to meet your needs on a stand-alone basis, or in conjunction with other financial products. Diversify your structured settlement, if you wish, by funding with more than one annuity issuer, with treasury funded structured settlements, index linked structured settlement payments and market based structured .
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    Structured attorney fees is a financial strategy that offers a unique way to defer taxes for lawyers and law firms. Lawyers CAN structure their legal fees even if the plaintiff doesn't structure their settlement. There are multiple ways to structure your attorney fees, such as capped or uncapped index linked structured settlement annuities where payments are adjusted based on upside changes in the S&P 500 or another index, Trial Lawyers may also use a special deferred pay/deferred compensation arrangement, if market based returns returns are desired with no cap. Plan NOW for year end! Put structured attorney fee expert John Darer® on your settlement planning team in 2024.
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    Receiving structured settlement payments from your own structured settlement or inherited structured settlement? You'll like this huge time saver. Click the title for a link to a comprehensive list of customer service telephone numbers that includes both current AND former structured settlement annuity issuers and reinsurers. If you have simple bank or beneficiary changes, or if the insurance company that issued the structured annuity has merged, sold or spun off its block of structured annuity business (e.g. Aviva, Allstate, Transamerica, AEGON, GE Capital, Liberty, CNA, Confederation Life), oran annuity issuer has changed its name and you're trying to track them down. Here you go! The list is regularly updated. Last updated May 20, 2024.
  • Structured Settlement Quote Lock-Ins | What You Need To Know
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  • What Are Structured Settlement Annuities?
    Structured settlement annuities are annuities that can provide one or more customized annuity payment streams in a single contract. Read about structured settlement annuities here.
  • History of Structured Settlements
    Tracing the roots of structured settlements history from 1918, when Congress exempted damages for personal injury or sickness from income tax, to the establishment of structured settlements as a core personal injury settlement planning tool to the present day.
  • What Are Market Based Structured Settlements?
    Market based structured settlements are an alternative or supplementary structured settlement solution for the plaintiff, attorney or law firm that: 1. Can afford to take some market risk 2. Have discretionary settlement dollars. Claimants and attorneys alike may find that market-based structured settlements provide the opportunity to receive tax-free income, or tax-deferred income, while enjoying growth potential.
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Qualified Settlement Funds

  • What is a Qualified Settlement Fund?
    Qualified Settlement Funds | What You Need to Know
  • Firmwide Qualified Settlement Funds Debunked
    Firmwide qualified settlement funds have been heavily promoted to trial lawyers, but have been debunked in a detailed analysis in a July 2022 legal opinion a tax partner at the law firm of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLP. Trial lawyers and firms who have established Firmwide QSFs or coinsidering establishing a Firmwide QSF should read the analysis as part of their evaluation.

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