Stay Vigilant: Trademark Owners Targeted in Recent Wave of Phishing Emails

Trademark owners beware: the College of Patent Agents and Trademark Agents (“CPATA”) and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (“CIPO”) have published respective announcements alerting trademark agents and trademark owners about a recent wave of phishing emails targeting trademark owners in North America.

Overview: Phishing Emails Targeting Trademark Owners

Phishing refers to the fraudulent practice of sending emails or other communications purporting to be a reputable or trusted source to induce recipients to send money or reveal personal or financial information to the fraudster. Phishing emails are often characterized by one or more of the following characteristics:

• Unsolicited messages relating to an unusual request;
• Conveyance of a sense of urgency (e.g., immediate action required to avoid serious consequences);
• Requests for the provision of personal information (e.g., name, address, telephone number, financial information);
• Poor grammar, typographical errors, suspicious links or attachments, inconsistencies in email addresses (e.g., emails purporting to be from CIPO but sent from illegitimate email address with a domain other than the official CIPO domain name “@ised-isde.gc.ca”), etc.

There are “many variants” of phishing schemes. In general, however, in this current iteration of the scheme affecting trademark owners, fraudsters are holding themselves out to be “intellectual property attorneys” and representing that the recipient’s trademark rights are vulnerable or under urgent threat of infringement. These “threats” thus require immediate action to safeguard and protect the integrity of the recipient’s brand. Fraudsters may outline extremely negative consequences and then offer to help for a “relatively low cost.” Even if their email goes unanswered, fraudsters may continue to email and escalate the sense of urgency to induce recipients into taking action.

Fraudsters will use various addresses and individual and business names that appear legitimate. In some instances, senders have impersonated licensed trademark agents (as these names are publicly available on CPATA’s Public Register). Other times, a name that is not on the register will be used. The fraudsters have often presented themselves as being affiliated with businesses operating under the following business names: “Trademark Guardians,” “Trademark Masters,” “Trademarks Hub,” “Trademark Protectors,” “Trademark Matrix” and “Trademarks Infinity.”

Key Takeaways: Verify, Verify, Verify

It is important for IP owners to stay vigilant. As a general rule, always check with your agent of record, where one is appointed, or CIPO before responding to unsolicited correspondence regarding your trademark rights.

If you have appointed a trademark agent as the agent and representative for service for your trademark at CIPO, then all legitimate correspondence from CIPO will be received by the agent to be reported by the agent to the trademark owner. Therefore, if you receive correspondence about your pending or registered trademark from someone other than your appointed agent of record, that should be taken as a “red-flag” warning that something may be amiss. As a matter of practice, trademark owners are encouraged to contact their agents with questions or concerns about all communications received in respect of their trademarks, instead of responding directly to the suspicious email.

For trademark owners who do not have an appointed agent of record, you are encouraged to reach out to CIPO for advice on how to confirm the validity of any trademark-related correspondence received, before responding.

The experts at Aird & Berlis LLP and Aird & McBurney LP regularly assist clients in acquiring, maintaining and enforcing their IP rights. Please contact the authors or a member of the Intellectual Property Group if you have any questions or require assistance. Emails from firm members will be sent from the domains “@airdberlis.com” or “@airdmcburney.com.”