ALERT: FRAUDULENT INVOICES
Several Patent Offices including, among others, the European Patent Office (EPO), the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO), the Israeli Patent Office (ILPO) as well as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) have recently issued warnings concerning fraudulent invoices, purporting to be from real IP offices or from non-existing organizations with seemingly respectable names that are being sent to owners of patents and patent applications. This is an opportune time to warn all concerned to disregard all such invoices or notices not sent to them through their attorneys.
In addition to invoices purporting to be from existing IP organizations, many invoices are being sent on behalf of other organizations, presenting themselves as certain patent registers with fake names that to the non-professional eye may seem legitimate. All such invoices, not received from the representative attorney, are fraudulent. This holds true for both patents and trademarks.
Applicants for and proprietors of patents should, thus, disregard all communications received from any office that are not communicated to them through their registered attorney.
More information, including examples of fraudulent invoices, may be found in the following links through these websites:
In case of doubt, those receiving such invoices should consult with their attorneys.
This article is provided for general information only. It is not intended as legal advice or opinion and cannot be relied upon as such. Advice on specific matters may be provided by our group’s attorneys.
