CIPO Issues Scam Warning

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has issued a warning regarding various scam emails and letters that are being sent to registered patent and trademark owners. These notices are designed to closely resemble CIPO notices.
Please do not extend payment to any entity, regardless of how formal the invoice or notice looks.  Any charges related to your intellectual property portfolio, including registration fees, will always be billed directly through Clancy P.C. or Brion Raffoul.
CIPO has noted the following facts about scam notices:

• They often say that your patent or trademark protection is about to expire and ask you to renew registrations or pay fees.
• To sound legitimate, they incorporate information from public records available in CIPO databases.
• They can include cautionary language such as “patent cancellation notice” or “important notification regarding your federal trademark.”
• Some notices even include “Canada” or “Canadian” in the company name and letterhead, making them appear official.
• They can offer to add you to directories which appear official, or offer services similar to those already provided by CIPO.

If in doubt, please contact us directly to verify the legitimacy of any notice/invoice received.

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