In response to current events, offices are once again increasingly warning of new scams involving patent applications.

These are usually requests for payment to be made to the respective patent office. Such fraudulent requests for payment are, for example, fictitious costs incurred for an entry in the register, publication or renewal of the patent. In order to distinguish genuine from false requests for payment, it should first be checked which costs are actually incurred for the respective IP right/office. This can be determined, for example, on the official websites of the offices. Furthermore, it should be checked whether inconsistencies, such as bank account details abroad, unstated address of the authority, short payment deadlines, pre-filled remittance forms or errors in spelling and grammar can be identified. Another aid is the list compiled by the DPMA of known companies that send such requests for payment (https://www.dpma.de/dpma/service/gebuehren/irrefuehrendezahlungsaufforderungen/liste_der_firmen/index.html). WIPO, the EPO and the USPTO also each maintain comparable archives for detecting fraudulent payment requests or corresponding companies.

https://www.wipo.int/pct/de/warning/pct_warning.html

https://www.epo.org/applying/fees/payment/warning_de.html

https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/protect/caution-misleading-notices

If a payment request sent to you is included in one of these lists, it is very likely a scam. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at any time.