Trademark Scams

The internet is full of scams, scammers, hackers and Nigerian Princes who are only inches away from giving you 10% of billions in unclaimed Federal Government cash and Russian Women who won't care if you are an unemployed baby-boomer living in your son's basement with an infectious skin condition. They love you, and all they want is for you to send them a bit of money.

IP is not immune to these fishing lures deployed by various shadowy groups bent on bilking you out of your hard earned money.  Recently, a client of mine received a letter, and invoice, purporting to be the "Register of International Patents and Trademarks (I am loath to link to them, but be forewarned- www.patent-online.org). I am not sure what tipped my client off to the scammy nature of the communication. Was it the fact that the "Office" was located in Slovakia? Or that the Bank transfer was to a P.O. Box in Austria? Or is it the fine print that states that "this is not a registration by a government organization." Why would the "International Patent Office" be a governmental organization, that is just crazy talk.  Maybe it is the fact that the invoice changes on every page?

This is nothing new. The publishing of Trademarks by the USPTO is done so that legitimate concerns by other users of similar marks can be addressed.  Unfortunately this means that sometimes unscrupulous people can try to take advantage by using a bit of public information and an official sounding name.

Well, if you haven't figured it out by now, these guys are a scam.  While you can get an internationally recognized Trademark, you must go through the Madrid Protocol Process provided by the World Intellectual Property Organization (which, surprise, surprise, is a international governmental origination). As I have stated previously, Trademark Rights are the first thing that most Start-ups and small business should focus on. Your branding is your identity, and you should take seriously the protection of that identity. Let the Twitter situations be a learning experience. While it might sound self-serving, you should always conduct your Trademark Matters through a qualified IP attorney (i.e. someone who has done this before and knows what they are doing).  Definitely what you shouldn't do is pay money to Eastern European scammers in the hopes that you will secure your rights on the cheap.

For you own research, I have produced the redacted letter that my client received. The prices and invoices are so wildly inflated, relative to what a trademark filing normally costs, as to be laughable.  If you have recently filed for a Trademark, please do not fall for this. If you have questions about internationally filing Trademarks, then consult your IP attorney. If they are too busy on the golf course, contact me. What ever you do, don't wire 2800.00USD to Bratislava, you won't even get a photo of a nice Russian Girl who loves you in return.


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