Fraudulent Solicitations

- Lead Office : EUIPO and USPTO -

The purpose of this project is to address scams occurring worldwide where trademark users receive misleading or fraudulent solicitations offering trademark services in exchange for payment, but the services are never rendered, or are rendered poorly, creating costs and frustration for trademark users.  Many solicitations hold themselves out to be acting on behalf of an IP office but, in fact, have no connection with an IP office.  Through this project, the TM5 Partners aim to exchange information, best practices, coordinate efforts, and raise public awareness about these solicitations.  The project also seeks to create a central source of information on the TM5 website with a multi-national database of questionable solicitations.  The TM5 Partners intend to share information with other national government agencies via working groups, including investigators, law enforcement, prosecutors, consumer protection agencies, and also to share information with other IP offices, maximizing coordination and outreach efforts.  The Partners hope that by taking these steps, the number of trademark users affected by these scams can be minimized or eliminated.