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Another serious case of fraud: German Patent and Trade Mark Office warns again of misleading payment requests

Trade mark owners are being invited by scammers, allegedly in the name of a high-ranking female DPMA staff member, to make payment transfers on a massive scale – DPMA has initiated criminal investigations

Press release of 20 September 2022

Munich. On the occasion of another serious case, the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) warns again of fraudulent and misleading payment requests. The current case concerns forged invoices issued to owners of registered trade marks which illegally contain the logo of the DPMA and the address of the DPMA’s Information and Service Centre in Berlin. They have allegedly been prepared by a high-ranking female staff member of the DPMA and request payment of certain amounts to foreign accounts.

The forged invoices which have so far come to the attention of the DPMA appear to have been sent by prepaid letter. They refer to Polish bank accounts. According to current findings, the letters are addressed to trade mark owners whose applications were received in 2020 or earlier and who have already received their trade mark certificates. Since Tuesday, the Central Customer Care and Services of the Munich office has received numerous enquiries from alarmed citizens. The DPMA has received more than 200 relevant e-mails and telephone calls until Tuesday afternoon. "This is obviously another particularly bold case of fraud," DPMA President Cornelia Rudloff-Schäffer said and added: "We have, again, immediately reported the matter to the police for criminal prosecution."

The DPMA had last seen a similar case of fraud in July when the requests were addressed to persons and companies whose trade mark applications had not yet been registered. At that time, the invoices were allegedly prepared in the name of a high-ranking DPMA staff member.

The DPMA does not issue invoices!

The DPMA advises against responding in any way to such requests for payment. The office emphasises that it does not send any official invoices or payment requests in respect of filing fees, annual fees and renewal fees. Acknowledgements of receipt, sent by the DPMA following the filing of a trade mark application, contain only information on fees. Applicants themselves are responsible for the timely transfer of fees. No additional fees are charged for the publication of IP rights in the official registers. Money transfers to the DPMA should be made only to the account of the Bundeskasse, IBAN DE84 7000 0000 0070 0010 54.
The DPMA firmly advises all affected persons who have already transferred money in response to such requests for payment to file a police report themselves. Those who have received such letters can send them to the DPMA so that they can be attached to its report.

The DPMA firmly advises all affected persons who have already transferred money in response to such requests for payment to file a police report themselves. Those who have received such letters can send them to the DPMA so that they can be attached to its report.

How to recognise dubious letters

Beyond the current case, citizens are repeatedly asked to pay alleged fees or are confronted with dubious offers, in an illegal or misleading way. Often, such letters cannot be identified as offers at first sight and in many cases, this becomes only obvious by carefully reading the small print or the terms and conditions that are sometimes printed on the back. Those who receive such letters containing requests for payment in connection with IP rights should always carefully read them. Indications that these are not official letters are, for example, bank details of a company abroad, e.g. in Poland (PL), Cyprus (ZY), Tunisia (TN) or Bulgaria (BG), or a pre-filled transfer slip.

Further information on misleading payment requests and official fees is available on the Site "Fees".

The German Patent and Trade Mark Office

Inventiveness and creativity need effective protection. The DPMA is the German centre of expertise for all intellectual property rights – patents, utility models, trade marks and designs. As the largest national patent office in Europe and the fifth largest national patent office in the world, our office stands for the future of Germany as a country of inventors in a globalised economy. Its staff of just under 2,800 at three locations – Munich, Jena and Berlin – provide services to inventors and companies. They implement federal innovation strategies and develop the national, European and international protection systems further.

Last updated: 20 September 2022