Trade mark owners beware new scam

Trade mark owners will be all too familiar with trade mark scams – fake requests for payment purporting to come from registries.

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has now notified users of a new trade mark scam. This time scammers are sending fake decisions purporting to be from EUIPO and requesting that payment of a registration fee is made. The fake decision uses EUIPO’s name, logo and letterhead and, on the face of it, appears genuine.

However, EUIPO does not charge a separate registration fee, rather the official fee is paid up-front when filing the application. This, and the fact that the payment details are for a bank account in Poland, rather than EUIPO’s account in Spain, are tell-tale signs that it is a scam. An example of such a scam can be seen at EUIPO’s website, here.

If you have instructed representatives to file applications on your behalf, then all official correspondence should be through those representatives. Accordingly, anything that does not come through your representatives should be treated with caution. If you do receive any direct correspondence then we would suggest that you check it with our Intellectual Property Team who can advise whether, or not, action is required.