11 July 2008

Fake invoices in circulation

Contact your consultant if you have any concerns about the validity of your invoice.

If you have just had a patent or trade mark made public you need to be aware of fake invoices.

Fraud worth DKK 70,000

"When your patent or trade mark registration is made public shady firms take advantage of the information and make fake invoices. We often see that these are sent directly to the holder of the patent or trade mark with requests for quick payment," says patent consultant Rasmus Gjesing. On behalf of a client he has just rejected fake invoices worth DKK 70,000.

The fake invoices typically come from foreign firms that appear to be authorised registration offices. The bills are indistinguishable from official fees and are designed so as to appear to be official payments.

"Typically the inquiry is about admission into private and inferior registers for patents and trade marks. The approach is very much like the one used by advertisement fraudsters who make a living by selling worthless advertisements and admissions into business guides and other types of registers," says Rasmus Gjesing and crumples up yet another example of a fake invoice and throws it in the waste basket – where it belongs.

If you have any doubts about whether to pay a bill you are welcome to call one of our consultants.