Watch out for trademark scams and bogus organisations

We reported in August of last year that the UK Intellectual Property Office had warned that businesses seeking to protect their intellectual property and brand rights were increasingly being targeted by dishonest organisations.

Once trade mark and patent applications are advertised, they enter the public domain and this provides an opportunity for organisations to write to proprietors, dishonestly requesting payment of registration fees.

Since the recent abolishment (from 1 May) of Community trade mark registration fees, it is likely that scammers will now target proprietors within a few weeks of an application being submitted to OHIM (the Community trade mark office). An organisation which we have already become aware of is C.R.P.S.L.

Bogus trademark organisations

Some other bogus organisations known to operate in this area include:

FIPTR – Federated Institute for Patent & Trademark Registry, Florida
IOPTS – International Patent & Trademark Service, LLC, South Carolina
WIG – Wirtschaftszentrale for Industrie, Zurich, Switzerland
EIEC – European Institute for Economy and Commerce, Brussels
CPI – Company for Publications and Information Anstalt, Lichtenstein
Trademark Publisher GMBH, Vienna
WIHH – Wirtschaftregister fur Industrie, Handel, Handwerk AG, Baar, Switzerland

If you receive any requests for trade mark fees, you should check with the relevant official registry or contact Chloe Fernandez on T. 0118 952 7247 or at cfernandez@boyesturner.com if you are in any doubt.

Consistent with our policy when giving comment and advice on a non-specific basis, we cannot assume legal responsibility for the
accuracy of any particular statement. In the case of specific problems we recommend that professional advice be sought.

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