New Warning About Unsolicited Mail
In our November 2009 trade mark newsletter we reported receiving a number of enquiries from clients regarding invoices received from official sounding ‘bodies’ inviting them to pay for services related to either the inclusion of their trade mark in various publications or registers, or for the preparation of a Community trade mark application.
The UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO) has issued a new warning reporting an increase in this business practice. A number of companies continue to send unsolicited mail to owners of intellectual property rights, including trade marks and designs.
Please do not be fooled into thinking that these come from an official source. These so-called bodies are not linked to any Government department or Community institution and you should not pay any invoices.
For clarification, the only offices that are able to provide legal protection for your trade marks in the UK are the UK IPO or the Community Trade Mark Office (formally known as the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market or OHIM). If D Young & Co is your representative, whether in the UK, Europe or overseas, you will only ever be invoiced for these services by D Young & Co directly.
If you receive a letter or invoice of this kind, please destroy it immediately. If you are in any doubt at all as to the legitimacy of the letter received, please contact your usual D Young & Co adviser for clarification.