Misleading invoices

Once you have registered your trademark with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), it is published in 23 official EU languages. This makes it public that you are the owner of the trademark for the specific goods and services. Accordingly, you have the right to use the trademark, to dispose of it and to prohibit third parties without your consent from using it in their commercial activities. 

This is what one looks like published trademark in the register of the European Office – 

Any person has the right to access the register and can see what trademarks have been published and who their owner is. Hence the problem - how can we protect ourselves from the unscrupulous use of our information?

Every second trademark applicant becomes the target of such fraud attempts.

A misleading invoice is sent to the trademark owner's address, which at first glance resembles a message sent by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). However, if we look closely, we will find that despite the identical details of our trademark such as the application number, publication date and logo, the message is actually sent by a company that resembles the EUIPO, such as IPTO (Intellectual Property Trademark Organization), EUIPA (European Intellectual Property Agency), EIPO (European Intellectual Property Office), and many others.

Our trademark also fell into the trap of misleading invoices, and here's what it looked like:

The message represents invitation to pay a "registration fee", for the trademark to be published. Bank details, the amount and the reason for transferring the specified amount are described. 

However, if we read the fine print, we will find that this is actually a proposal for registration on a website with a private database that has nothing to do with the official website of the European Intellectual Property OfficeIt is described that you are not obligated to pay, but in case you do, then it is considered that you have accepted the registration offer.

These are just some of the misleading invoices that are sent to consumers for payment for services such as publishing, registering or registering trademarks and designs. 

How can we protect ourselves from such scams?

1. Check if the source is official.
2. Be sure to read everything, including the fine print. 
3. It is important to know that the EUIPO does not send invoices requesting direct payment of amounts. 
4. In most cases, the fees do not correspond to the classes you requested and are set disproportionately.
5. You can receive secure information in your EUIPO User Area as a message. This communication channel is secure and is an official way of communicating with the European Intellectual Property Office.
6. EUIPO only uses two Spanish bank accounts for payments, which are published on the website, and any account that differs from the official one should be suspected. 
7. Even if there is the slightest doubt about authenticity, contact a specialist before performing the translation.

If you need a consultation, contact us at: office@ipfabrika.com and +359 88 333 3797