Sweden jurisdiction report: The scourge of fake trademark renewals
Are all details of your trademark listed in the invoice, which informs you that it is time to pay a rather high (but not too expensive) sum in order to get your trademark “registered”? Yes? Do not pay!
The problems with fake invoices are increasing. The question is how to identify them. Some national patent and trademark offices (PTOs) have no information or anti-scam warning at all. Others have warnings only in their respective local language.
A limited number of PTOs have warnings in both the local language and English, but even those that do have updated information and warnings, the information is not always easy to find. It may be hidden in the part of the official website that provides “further information”, “about us”, or “banking information”.
The EUIPO has the warning on its front page: “Misleading invoices: Don’t pay until you have checked that the source is official”.
WIPO has a list of “Samples of Misleading Invoices”. Visit http://www.wipo.int/madrid/en/fees/invoices.html, where reported misleading invoices are listed by name and origin of the sending company, as well as PDF samples of such invoices, searchable for 2009–2017. There is also a clear link which says “Contact us to report samples of misleading invoices not listed here”.
