If an official-looking invoice has arrived about your trademark — asking for a few hundred pounds to “register”, “publish”, “renew” or “protect” it — treat it as a scam until proven otherwise. Don’t pay it, and don’t reply. These letters carry your real trademark details and look convincing, but they come from private companies with no connection to the Intellectual Property Office. The IPO does not cold-contact you demanding payment.
Here’s why you’re getting them, how to recognise one in seconds, and exactly what to do.
Why you’re being targeted
When you apply for a trademark, your details go on the public register — your mark, the classes, your name and address, and the filing date. That’s by design: it’s what lets others check the register and object to conflicting marks. But it also means anyone can harvest your details the moment you file.
Scammers do exactly that, then post an invoice that quotes your real application back to you. The realistic timing: an official-looking letter often lands within weeks of filing. Real details are what make these convincing — they are not proof the letter is genuine.
The IPO never sends you an unsolicited invoice. It only charges for actions you (or your attorney) started — like an application or a renewal you requested. Any cold letter offering “registration”, “publication in a directory”, “monitoring” or “international protection” for a fee is not from the IPO.
Five red flags
- Urgency. A short deadline — “pay within 7 days” — designed to make you act before you check. Official deadlines are communicated calmly and well in advance.
- A fee that doesn’t match. The amount is usually anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand pounds — far above the real official fees — for a “service” you never requested.
- A name that’s almost right. Titles built to echo real bodies — a letter off from EUIPO, a word added to WIPO. If it’s not the IPO (UK), the EUIPO (EU) or WIPO (international), be suspicious.
- An overseas bank account for what’s dressed up as a UK or EU service.
- A tiny disclaimer. Buried at the bottom, in pale small print, a line admitting the organisation isn’t affiliated with any official body. If you have to read the fine print to find that out, that’s your answer.
What to do if you receive one
Before anything else:
- Don’t pay. The IPO warns it’s highly unlikely you’d get the money back.
- Don’t reply — not even to query it. A response can confirm your details are “live” and invite more.
Then verify and report:
- If you’re represented, forward it to your trademark attorney — genuine correspondence should go through them, not straight to you.
- Report it to the IPO: send a copy to misleadinginvoices@ipo.gov.uk and someone will respond. The IPO keeps an official, regularly-updated list of known misleading organisations (the names change often, so a letter from a body not on the list still isn’t safe).
- Report it to Action Fraud: actionfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040, and to your local Trading Standards.
If you’ve already paid
Act quickly — recovery is hard but not always impossible:
- Contact your bank immediately and ask whether the payment can be stopped or recalled.
- Credit card? You may be protected under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act — speak to your card provider.
- Report it to the IPO and Action Fraud, and keep everything — the letter, envelope, emails and payment record — as evidence.
How to reduce the letters
You can’t make your filing private — publication is part of how the system works — but you can blunt the impact:
- Appoint a representative. If a trademark attorney is your address for service, official (and unofficial) post is routed to people who know a scam on sight.
- Know the real bodies. The only organisations that genuinely handle your trademark are the IPO (gov.uk), the EUIPO and WIPO. Anything else asking for money is optional at best.
One reassuring note: searching the register is private — running a check on a name exposes nothing about you. The exposure comes only when you file. So check freely, file when you’re ready, and bin the fake invoices that follow.