Focus: Trade mark scams seeking to take advantage of trade mark owners
Services: Commercial, Intellectual property & technology
Industry Focus: Energy, resources & infrastructure, Financial services, Life sciences & healthcare, Insurance, Property

Over recent months we have seen a troubling increase in unsolicited correspondence seeking to take advantage of trade mark owners. The Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market even recently released a warning concerning fraudulent invoices targeting companies and individuals with European trade marks.

Whether requesting payment for trade mark registration, renewal services, or offering listings in unofficial databases, this type of correspondence will often suggest an existing relationship or obligation along with a request for the payment of fees. It is important to exercise caution when considering the validity of the services offered.

The Australian trade mark system relies on the details of a trade mark, including the name and address of the owner, being available to the public and accessible via IP Australia's ATMOSS database. It is for this reason that trade mark owners must be especially vigilant in scrutinising unsolicited correspondence, as anyone with internet access is able to obtain pertinent information regarding the status and details of any mark and therefore such correspondence may at first glance appear legitimate as a result of this familiarity.

The services offered by some of these organisations are often not legitimate and have no official sanction or connection with any government authority. In some instances, the services offered do not affect official trade mark registration or trade mark rights in Australia. Indeed, they sometimes relate to unofficial lists that the sender has created, quite unrelated to the official registers.

Unexpected letters from unknown organisations, especially those requesting payment, should be treated with caution. IP Australia has issued warnings in relation to a number of these companies that have identified themselves as:

  • Commercial Centre for Industry and Trade (based in Switzerland)
  • Company for Economic Publications Ltd (based in Austria)
  • Company for Publications and Information Anstalt (based in Liechtenstein)
  • Edition The Marks KFT
  • European Institute for Economy and Commerce - EIEC (based in Belgium)
  • Federated Institute for Patent and Trademark Registry, based in Florida, USA
  • Gaia Almanach LTD
  • Globus Edition SL (based in Spain)
  • I.B.F.T.P.R - International Bureau for Federated Trademark & Patent Register
  • INFOCOM (based in Switzerland)
  • Institute of Commerce, Trade and Commerce (based in Switzerland)
  • International Patent and Trademark Register based in Nurnberg, Germany
  • IP Data s.r.o (Czech Republic)
  • IT & TAG (based in Switzerland)
  • Objective Concept (based in France)
  • Patent & Trademark Organisation LLC (based in USA with a street address in Melbourne)
  • RIPT - Register of International Patents and Trademarks TM Collection (based in Hungary)
  • TM-Edition Ltd. (based in Hungary)
  • TM Worldwide (based in Hungary)
  • TMP, Trade Mark Publishers, Austria but with a street address in Sydney
  • UPTS s.r.o (Czech Republic)
  • World Patents Trademarks WIPT s.r.o (Czech Republic)
  • ZDR-Datenregister GmbH (based in Germany).

If DibbsBarker has applied for trade mark protection in Australia on your behalf, our firm would be recorded as your official Australian Address for Service. This means that we should receive all official correspondence from IP Australia in relation to your trade mark application and/or registration and will alert you to official correspondence including contacting you when it is time to renew your trade mark.

This scenario holds true for each jurisdiction in which you own trade marks. If DibbsBarker has assisted in seeking trade mark protection in juridictions other than Australia, it is likely that one of DibbsBarker's extensive network of international associates is recorded as the local address for service and official correspondence will be communicated through DibbsBarker. Accordingly, any other private office writing to you about your trade marks is not official and should be carefully considered.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.