There is hardly anything more annoying than the immediate barrage of fraudulent letters that the registration of almost any domain seems to automatically activate.
You know what I’m talking about.
You might be sent an invoice for a domain name that is very similar to your current domain name (the scammer hopes that you don’t notice the difference and just pay the invoice) or, alternatively, you are sent a letter that looks like a renewal notice for your actual domain name, but is from a different company to the one you have previously used to register your domain name.
This morning we were tipped off by one of our LinkedIn Group members that this scam has moved into the Trademark registration market.
I’m fairly certain that this practice has been happening for a while but, according to its website, IP Australia believes that a recent spate warrants a warning.
The national IP registrar recently received “numerous calls from trade mark owners who have received an invoice from a company known as TMP, Trademark Publisher”.
The invoice includes a Sydney street address for TMP and requests payment for publication of the trade mark owner’s trade mark details in a register.
According to the IP Australia warning, “This company is not associated with IP Australia and has no official or government authority. The service they offer does not affect official trade mark registration or trade mark rights in Australia or, to the best of our knowledge, any other country.”
In short, before paying a fee for any IP related service, make sure you check the bona fides of the service provider.
Or, if you are concerned about the behaviour of any company, follow the registrar’s advice and contact the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). Their complaints line is 1300 302 502.
