Fake payment requests after an IP filing: how to react
Received a suspicious letter after filing a trademark or registering a company? How to identify and avoid these IP filing scams.
I regularly see clients receive letters requesting payment following the completion of legal formalities such as company registration or trademark filing.
These letters come from entities that present themselves as official bodies, both in form and in language. In reality, they are fraud attempts. No official body would request payment of additional sums not identified before the formalities began.
Upon receiving such a document, verify whether the entity is affiliated with the official body. A simple search engine query with the company name and the type of formality you completed is usually sufficient.
These entities deliberately cultivate confusion with official organisations: their names often resemble those of the official bodies (similar initials, logos or names), and they are frequently based outside France. They rely on the fear of recipients — applicants are typically threatened with cancellation of their filing if they do not pay. Some also offer services presented as mandatory (such as trademark monitoring).
Only the amounts requested by the official body for the formality itself should be paid. For intellectual property filings, only the filing office can request payment (INPI, EUIPO, WIPO or EPO). For further guidance on the trademark filing process, see the trademark filing guide.
If in doubt about the authenticity of a document, contact the body with which you completed your formality. They can confirm whether it is a fraud attempt. Registry offices are particularly interested in this information in order to initiate proceedings.
It is also possible to file a criminal complaint, but it is often more pragmatic to simply discard these documents — these entities tend to disappear and reappear under different names. For the broader protection of your trademarks, see the intellectual property services page.
These scams are common following a trademark filing or company registration. The best approach: do not pay anything without first verifying with the official body. If you have doubts about a letter you received, book a call.
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I have been supporting software and SaaS companies for over 10 years, helping them structure their business, protect their intellectual property and strengthen their contracts.
