For years it is known like a plague that certain companies read out official available registers and try by direct contact with the applicant to prompt payments which do not have anything in common with the application proceedings or the maintenance of an intellectual property right. The trick in this respect is that the request for payment should look like an official communication and, inter alia, the name of the company as well as the used symbols are similar to official names and logos.
Now, we have seen a particularly prash method in which not only a similarity with official names and its logos are given, but a 1:1 imitation, in this case of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) with residence in Geneva. However, a Polish IBAN and a German telephone number show in detail that this is not an official communication.
As official fees are paid, as a rule, by the representative, we recommend that in any case such direct communications should be viewed with large scepticism. The content of the communication should in any case be evaluated with the representative before taking any action.
