Payment requests from EUIPO? Be aware of the details
Written By
Counsel
Italy
As Counsel here at Bird & Bird, I have broad experience in Italian and European IP law, representing our clients from industries including food, fashion, entertainment, media, retail, finance and insurance, in trade mark, copyright and design matters.
Associate
Italy
Here at Bird & Bird, I am a senior associate in our Intellectual Property Group in Milan with experience across the food and beverage, luxury, fashion and design sectors.
Three people under investigation for commercial gang fraud have recently been sentenced by the Munich Court to one year and 10 months of imprisonment, suspended with a probation period of three years, for having sent several misleading invoices to EUIPO clients. Moreover, the Court has also ordered the confiscation of the amount illegally obtained for a total of about 200,000 euros.
More in detail, the criminal proceeding has been initiated by the EUIPO after receiving complaints from its clients regarding the submission of communications - sent in the name of "IP Register UG" - containing invoices similar to the official ones.
Notably, the communications received, titled “Publication of data from the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM)”, contained a reference to “European IP Register” in the header.
Those invoices, which were similar to those ordinarily sent by EUIPO, referred to an alleged “total amount due”, specified a payment deadline, and included the bank details to which the transfer should be made.
On closer inspection, the footer of these communications contained a small note - almost illegible - that clarified the document was merely a payment proposal, and not an official invoice.
Made aware of the above, the EUIPO filed a proceeding before the Munich Court in December 2020.
As a result of investigations, the relevant court - having ascertained the unlawful collection of money amounting to approximately 200,000 euros - condemned the three defendants for commercial gang fraud by sanctioning them as above set out. In addition to this sentence, the Court ordered the confiscation of the 200,000 euros obtained through fraudulent ways to compensate the victims.
As a reaction to the increasing number of scams, the EUIPO has deemed it appropriate to implement tools to protect its users.
A database has been developed (available here (in Italian)) that contains a list of companies or registries that have issued misleading invoices, along with copies of the invoices themselves.
Well, if in recent years you have received payment requests in relation to trademarks filed with EUIPO and/or National Offices, we suggest you check such communications to verify their lawfulness and do not hesitate to contact us for any further clarifications you may need.
