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Misleading Invoices: The Brexit Edition
In April 2019, the EU agreed a second delay to the UK’s departure from the EU and set a new departure date of 31 October 2019. Following EU leaders’ talks about the new Brexit delay, President Donald Tusk told the UK: “Please don’t waste this time”.
A couple of months on from Tusk’s press conference the UK appears to be doing everything it can to ignore that request as we watch the Conservative Party continue to tear itself apart by holding a leadership contest and the Labour Party leader continue the party’s policy of constructive ambiguity as far as its Brexit policy is concerned.
Although the UK political parties and most of the country seem to be gripped by an ongoing Brexit paralysis (#JustMakeItStop), one group of people have been quick off the mark hoping to cash in on the uncertainty around Brexit.
Yes, misleading IP related invoices are back and this time the companies sending the “invoices” are hoping to persuade their recipients into parting with their hard earned cash by paying for totally unnecessary UK trade mark and design registrations. (more…)
Top 5 Tips to help spot Misleading Invoices
Our first article on misleading invoices was published in 2013. Four years on this issue is still unfortunately of relevance to all IP right holders who need to be aware of invoices received from unfamiliar companies. (more…)
Scam invoices – domain name renewal
We’ve previously written about the problem of scam invoices in which UK, European and other IP rights holders receive invoices inviting them to pay for the publication of their IP right in some official sounding register. Variations of the scam involve offers to renew IP rights or even apply for IP rights. Previous IPcopy articles can be found here and all the main IPOs have their own sections which keep tabs on the latest examples of such scams (UKIPO, EPO, EUIPO, WIPO).
A more recent example of such scams is one in which the target is invited to buy domain names. According to the UKIPO the initial contact is a telephone call from an organisation that says they are the “Trade Marks Intellectual Property Office”. (more…)
Misleading invoices update: recent UKIPO activities
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: (more…)
Misleading invoices – IP Scammers
We are delighted to report that there has been some good news in the fight against companies/individuals issuing misleading invoices which appear to be from the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO) (previous IPcopy articles can be found here).
In this regard, a company trading as Intellectual Property Agency Ltd (IPA) and its director Mr Harri Mattias Jonasson were found liable for trade mark infringement and passing off and ordered to pay £500,000 plus legal costs to the UK IPO. (more…)
Misleading Invoices – the UKIPO fights back
For any avid readers of the IPcopy (hi mum), you will have noticed that the subject of misleading invoices rears its ugly head on a regular basis. To summarise, if you are the owner of an intellectual property (IP) right then you may from time-to-time receive communications that resemble official looking invoices for IP services. Such misleading invoices are sent directly to the IP owner and are designed such that they give the impression to the IP owner that they have to either use the service offered or pay the amount listed, often at inflated rates.
In a positive development in the fight against companies imitating official Intellectual Property Offices, the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) has succeeded in bringing legal proceedings against Mr Aleksandrs Radcuks (trading as ‘Patent and Trade Mark Office’) and Mr Igors Villers (trading as Patent and Trade Mark Organisation), who admitted and settled the UKIPO’s claims of passing off. (more…)
Trade Mark News Bites
It’s time for some trade mark stories that have caught our attention recently – from misleading invoices to “trademark patents” (What are they?) and audio trade marks in China.
Misleading Invoices: a case study
What do you mean I spent all my pocket money settling a fake invoice?
A while ago we posted an article about misleading invoices that relate to intellectual property rights (patents, designs and trade marks). Here’s a link to that article – Misleading Invoices: a warning.
By way of a quick recap, you will recall that we are talking about communications, that are sometimes received by the owners of IP rights, that resemble official looking invoices for IP services. Such misleading invoices are sent directly to the IP owner and are designed such that they give the impression to the IP owner that they have to either use the service offered or pay the amount listed.
We were recently sent details of the various invoices that one IP owner has received and a quick analysis of the information we’ve seen is quite frightening. (more…)
Misleading Invoices: a warning
What do you mean I spent all my pocket money settling a fake invoice?
No IP blog would be complete without a warning on misleading IP invoices, so here’s ours!
If you are the owner of an intellectual property (IP) right then you may from time-to-time receive communications that resemble official looking invoices for IP services. Such misleading invoices are sent directly to the IP owner and are designed such that they give the impression to the IP owner that they have to either use the service offered or pay the amount listed.
It is important that all IP owners double check the invoices they receive and satisfy themselves that such invoices are genuine.
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