IPcopy has been provided with a copy of an update from the UKIPO into the work they have been doing recently to combat misleading invoices. Previous IPcopy articles on this subject can be found here.

Following the recent successful trademark infringement and passing off cases against the Intellectual Property Agency and the Patent and Trade Mark Office/Organisation (see The Comptroller–General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks and BIS v: Intellectual Property Agency Ltd and Harri Jonasson [2015] EWHC 3256 (IPEC) and also Misleading invoices – the UKIPO fights back), the UKIPO has also been tackling the problem of scam invoices in a number of other ways:

• In December last year a Latvian company was planning on using the name of the UKIPO on their renewal notices. The UKIPO worked with the City of London Police to prevent scam invoices issuing and alerted as many people as possible that might be affected that they may receive a scam invoice and what action to take if one did arrive;
• The UKIPO is continuing to work with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and in January this year the ASA upheld a complaint against the Patent and Trademark Institute. Other recent rulings from the ASA related to the Trademark Renewal Service Ltd and Patent and Trademark Agency Ltd.;
• Following discussions with the City of London Police’s fraud team, customers are advised to report any misleading invoices to the Action Fraud website;
• The UKIPO also continues to update their website resources on misleading invoices.

Mark Richardson 23 June 2016