On April 23, 2020, the Chinese Trademark Office has warned applicants of a scam of someone sending a “trademark announcement” via mail to the applicant in order to defraud the applicant via payment of unnecessary fees.  The Office reminds applicants that all notices since May 2016 are electronic and the receipt of Official Documents do not require the payment of fees.

This is similar to a Notice issued by the Chinese Patent Office in January 2020 regarding a scam for “pay-as-you-go” courier mail for a “Patent Book” from the ““Intellectual Property Service Center of Nanshan Street, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong” requiring the payment of fees.

Other intellectual property offices have issued similar fraud warnings, including the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) for misleading trademark notices, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for fraudulent requests for payment of Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) fees, and the European Patent Office for fraudulent publication or registration fees.