Scam alert

30 January 2025

A concerning trend has emerged in the IP landscape, with scammers targeting businesses through fraudulent messages sent by emails and post. This alert aims to inform and protect businesses from falling victim to these sophisticated scams.

Types of scams

Scammers have developed deceptive strategies to exploit businesses. These typically take the form of official-looking notices purporting to come from legitimate organisations or even law firms, aiming to manipulate businesses into making unnecessary payments or revealing sensitive information. Here are some of the most common forms of IP-related scams.

Bogus trade mark and patent registration and renewal notices

This involves meticulously designed documents that mimic communications from actual IP registries. They exploit confusion about IP processes to trick businesses into paying unnecessary fees by creating artificial urgency. This is achieved by stating false deadlines to create a sense of urgency or misleading the recipient to paying for publication in unofficial journals that have no legal effect. Some examples of these deceptive notices are can be found here and are shown below.

Domain name registration warnings

The scammer, impersonating a representative from an official domain registrar, informs the target business that a fictitious third party has applied to register domain names closely associated with the business’s trade mark. The target business is given a limited window to ‘object’ to the supposed registration attempt. The scammer may present this as a courtesy, claiming that they have temporarily halted the registration process to protect the business’s interests. If the targeted business responds to this initial contact, the scammer offers to pre-emptively register these domain names on behalf of the business, but at significantly inflated prices. An example of this can be seen below.

Trade mark registration warnings

A recent scam that has been reported by several clients over the past few weeks is a variation building upon the tactics of domain name registration warnings. It involves an email claiming that another party is attempting to register a trade mark similar to the target business’s trade mark, increasing pressure to act quickly. The scammer pretends to represent conflicting interests simultaneously and uses technical language to pressure the target businesses to engage their services to ‘protect’ their trade mark. This is further exacerbated by outlining dire potential consequences, including legal battles, forced rebranding, and loss of business name rights. These emails impersonate actual trade mark attorneys while providing fake contact details for ‘Patent Registry Hub’. Here is an example.

Key takeaways

Businesses must remain vigilant against the scourge of IP-related scams. We recommend clients:

  • Do not pay or respond to unsolicited notices from unknown sources unless you can independently verify it is legitimate;
  • If your business receives suspicious communications about your IP rights and you are unsure of its legitimacy, please contact us or your trusted legal advisor before responding;
  • To register trade marks, domain names or other IP rights, please contact us or a trusted expert in the field, rather than relying on unknown sources sending unsolicited notices.

By staying informed and cautious, you can protect yourself from unnecessary costs and potential undermining of your IP rights.

This article was written by Nicholas Pullen, Partner, Scott La Rocca, Special Counsel, and Krystal La, Law Graduate.

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