Recently, there has been a scam email campaign targeting trademarks owners in Canada (and the United States) trying to scare and deceive these owners.
The sender is identified as an “intellectual property attorney”. This alleged “intellectual property attorney” warns the recipient to call or otherwise contact the sender immediately in order to avoid serious consequences such as possible severe legal costs and risks to the trademark owner’s trademark.
The College of Patent Agents & Trademark Agents (CPATA) which is the regulatory body overseeing Canadian registered patent and trademark agents has issued a public notice article warning of this recent scam email campaign. CPATA’s article gives a detailed description of this latest scam.
Other Common Scam Trademark Notices
The above scam email campaign is just the latest of similar fraudulent campaigns targeting Canadian trademark owners.
Beware that companies or individuals search the public trademark databases in Canada and the United States, and send out unsolicited and misleading emails or mail to trademarks owners. These emails and notices attempt to look “official” by using names that sound similar to the Canadian or US Trademark Offices. These notices may even look like an invoice requiring payment to maintain the identified trademark.
If you receive the latest scam email described above, or another unsolicited email or notice that you suspect may be fraudulent, contact your trademark agent or contact CPATA (cpata-cabamc.ca).
If Pallett Valo LLP is your company’s registered trademark agent, contact Ahmed Bulbulia, Intellectual Property Partner & Registered Trademark Agent, at abulbulia@pallettvalo.com.