IP scamsIP professionals and their clients are often the target of various scams. Recent examples include ones using fake WIPO e-mails as well as fake WIPO websites, faxes and telephone numbers – more details of these can be seen at www.wipo.int/portal/en/scam_warning.html. Other similar examples are of people sending EPO patent applicants something that looks very much like an invoice, frequently it gets paid. CIPA has created a page on its website to warn IP owners and their advisers of various IP scams. This page will be updated as new scams are brought to our attention. On the documents listed below details identifying the IP owners have been removed. Thank you to all the members who have taken the time to inform CIPA about these. If you have details of any similar invoices please let us know and we will add the details. Please e-mail examples to Iain Ross – iain.ross@cipa.org.uk.
CRPT Central Register for Patents and Trademarks On 28 October 2011, comments from a CIPA Fellow on the CRPT Central Register for Patents and Trademarks were posted on the IPKat blog - click here, and scroll to the bottom of the page for further details.
Intellectual Property Agency Ltd - still active In October 2011, we were alerted that the "London-based" Intellectual Property Agency Ltd is still active (the company is registered in the Seychelles). As we were warned: 'The nature of the supposed "reminder" was totally deceptive and designed to look like an official demand for payment whilst implying that we would lose our trade mark if we did not respond immediately. Thankfully, the "scam" was brought to our attention by our official legal representatives in time but I thought we should bring this to your attention in case any other companies are on the receiving end of a similar approach in the future.'
"Scammy Trade mark Registers" On 2 August 2011, the IPKat posted an item on IP scams. Click here for more details.
"Official" requests for payments In July 2010, MARQUES Class 46 weblog posted the an update of its little guide to the practice of IP offices regarding the receipt by users of their patent and trade mark systems of apparently official requests for payments. Click here for more details. Click here for more comments from the IPKat.
In February 2011, this “invoice” was received from the Czech Republic, but posted in Hong Kong:
Below are three bogus invoices that a CIPA Fellow became aware of in February 2011. The documents request payment within eight days; this caused a client inventor a great deal of aggravation as he thought that the invoices were genuine. He was advised to ignore the invoices. ODM (Slovak Republic / Austria)
The PDF below has the text from an e-mail, which was received by a member of staff at a Fellow’s client in January 2011.
In July 2010, the “invoice” below, from a UK-based orgaisation, was brought to our attention by a CIPA Fellow. He also pointed out: “If not actually a scam, £1280 is certainly an extortionate price for renewal of a UK trade mark in one class. Intellectual Property Agency Ltd must be relying on their confusing name and the form-like nature of the "Reminder" to deceive ill-informed recipients into thinking this is an official demand, which they have no choice but to pay. The Terms and Conditions on the back of the reminder are too small and faint to be copied (!) but there is a link to them at the bottom of IPA's website here: http://www.intellectualpropertyagency.org/. Clause 1(b) in particular is interesting: it gives IPA a unilateral right to alter the Agreement, without notice, after it has been entered into! I have notified the City of London Trading Standards and the IPO of our concern."
Sent on to CIPA in June 2010, the PDF below has a collection of example invoices from a host of organisations sent to a Fellow’s company over the years. As the Fellow points out: “The numbers of such documents is quite surprising because we are only a small company and makes one wonder how many such items are received by the accounts personnel of large companies, which personnel may have authority to pay bills for insubstantial amounts, say up to £2000. This activity needs to be curtailed as soon as possible; however, I believe that the fraud squad cannot necessarily take any action because upon payment of the scam invoices, the details of the payees lPRs will be included in a 'Register' of no import.”
Example of faux invoices (FIPTR; ODM; IBIP; Community Trade Mark Filing Support; European Trade marks [sic] and Designs; CRPSL; International Bureau for Federated Trademark & Patent Register)
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