There is a new misleading invoice in circulation, which takes the form of a fake EUIPO decision.
The misleading invoice, which can be viewed here, has been reported to the Office by users over the course of the past fortnight.
This latest misleading invoice uses the EUIPO’s logo, name, acronym and letterhead, and purports to be a decision signed by the Office. It is mailed to users from Madrid, Spain. It includes a demand for a “registration fee” to be transferred to a Polish bank account with a PL IBAN prefix.
The EUIPO has contacted the relevant Polish banks. Also it has lodged a criminal complaint with the Office of the Public Prosecutor in Warsaw, Poland. A criminal investigation is now pending.
Nevertheless, many of these invoices may still be in circulation.
Users can protect themselves against this, and other misleading invoices, by taking careful note of the following:
- The EUIPO never sends invoices or demands for payment of money to its users.
- All fees payable directly to the EUIPO in relation to EUTMs are laid down in the European Union Trade Mark Regulation (EU) No 2017/1001. A full list of these statutory fees can be found here. Also, be aware that EUIPO only uses two Spanish bank accounts for payments relating to trade mark and design fees. Any invoice which contains a bank account other than those two is fake.
- Check everything you receive in relation to your trade mark application or registration very closely. If you have even the slightest doubt, contact EUIPO; You can email at ue.aporue.opiuenull@noitamrofni. There is a searchable database of all misleading invoices.
- EUIPO User Area to pay fees and receive communications from the Office is a completely secure channel through which you can pay by credit card, bank transfer or through your EUIPO current account, and through which you can receive notifications safely. You can sign up here,
More info at EUIPO website
