mitigating this unscrupulous practice
- WIPO invites its customers to use and adapt this standard text to notify applicants and inventors about such fee requests. [WORD]
- Circular letter addressed by WIPO Director General, Francis Gurry to all PCT Contracting States and Regional Organizations. [PDF]
Envelopes
PCT applicants and agents have informed the International Bureau that some of these requests to pay fees are being sent in envelopes which appear to bear the WIPO/OMPI logo and the address of the organization. Please carefully review all such requests. The services which are being offered in these invitations do not come from WIPO.
payment
The invitations typically refer to a payment, which is to be made in euro or US dollars, by cheque and/or money transfer to addresses in:
-
AT: Austria
-
CH: Switzerland
-
CZ: Czech Republic
- CN(HK): Hong Kong
-
DE: Germany
-
IS: Iceland
-
SK: Slovakia
-
US: United States of America
WARNING: Requests for Payment of Fees
It has come to the attention of the International Bureau that PCT applicants and agents are receiving invitations to pay fees that do not come from the International Bureau of WIPO and are unrelated to the processing of international applications under the PCT. Whatever registration services might be offered in such invitations, they bear no connection to WIPO or to any of its official publications.
The invitations often identify a particular PCT application by its international publication number (eg: WO 02 xxxxxx), publication date, title of the invention, international application number, priority information and IPC symbols; examples of such invitations can be viewed below.
| First published on: | ||
|---|---|---|
| IOPR - Intellectual Office Property Register | [PDF] | January 3, 2012 |
| Euro IP Register | [PDF] | December 23, 2011 |
| WDTP - Worldwide Database of Trademarks and Patents | [PDF] | December 13, 2011 |
| ODM - Patent Trademark Register | [PDF] | December 13, 2011 |
| RIPT - Registration of International Patent | [PDF] | November 21, 2011 |
| CPTD - Central Patent & Trademark Database | [PDF] | September 2, 2011 |
| WDTP - Worldwide Database of Trademarks and Patents | [PDF] | August 2, 2011 |
| WDTP - Worldwide Database of Trademarks and Patents | [PDF] | July 7, 2011 |
| ODM - Patent & Trademark Office | [PDF] | May 2, 2011 |
| WOIP - Globex World Organisation Intellectual Property | [PDF] | March 18, 2011 |
| WOIP - Globex World Organisation Intellectual Property | [PDF] | March 3, 2011 |
| WIPD - World Intellectual Property Database | [PDF] | March 3, 2011 |
| WDTP - Worldwide Database of Trademarks and Patents | [PDF] | February 23, 2011 |
| WIPD - World Intellectual Property Database | [PDF] | February 8, 2011 |
| WIPD - World Intellectual Property Database | [PDF] | January 14, 2011 |
| ODM - Patent Trademark Register | [PDF] | January 14, 2011 |
| RIPT - Registration of International Patent | [PDF] | January 14, 2011 |
| WIPD - World Intellectual Property Database | [PDF] | October 15, 2010 |
| ITPD - International Trademarks & Patents Database | [PDF] | October 11, 2010 |
| WPTI - World Patent and Trademark Index | [PDF] | October 4, 2010 |
| WOIP - Globex World Organisation Intellectual Property | [PDF] | September 28, 2010 |
| WIPD - World Intellectual Property Database | [PDF] | September 13, 2010 |
| RIPT - Registration of International Patent | [PDF] | September 13, 2010 |
| RIPT - Registration of International Patent | [PDF] | August 2, 2010 |
| WBIP - World Bureau Intellectual Property | [PDF] | May 21, 2010 |
| IPTD- International Patents and Trademarks Database | [PDF] | March 2, 2010 |
| IBIP - International Bureau for Intellectual Property | [PDF] | February 3, 2010 |
| WBIP - World Bureau Intellectual Property | [PDF] | January 8, 2010 |
| WBIP - World Bureau Intellectual Property | [PDF] | November 11, 2009 |
| IOPTS - International Organization for Patent & Trademark Service | [PDF] | August 11, 2009 |
| IRTP - International Register for Trademark & Patent | [PDF] | May 7, 2009 |
| IBFTPR Service - Register of International Patent Application | [PDF] | May 4,2009 |
| ODM - Patent Trademark Register | [PDF] | March 23, 2009 |
| IPTR - International Patent and Trademark Register | [PDF] | December 19, 2008 |
| IBIP - International Bureau for Intellectual Property | [PDF] | December 10, 2008 |
| RIPT - Register of International Patents and Trademarks | [PDF] | August 21, 2008 |
| IBIP - International Bureau for Intellectual Property | [PDF] | April 15, 2008 |
| ODM - Patent Trademark Register | [PDF] | February 20, 2008 |
| IBFTPR - International Bureau for Federated Trademark & Patent Register | [PDF] | November 21,2007 |
| IOIP - Organization for Intellectual Property | [PDF] | August 10, 2007 |
| ODM - Register of International Patents | [PDF] | August 2, 2007 |
| ODM - Office Data Management | [PDF] | May 31, 2007 |
| IOPTS - International Organization for Patent & Trademark Service | [PDF] | May 31, 2007 |
| FIPTR - Federated Institute for Patent and Trademark Registry Inc. | [PDF] | January 9, 2007 |
| CPTD - Central Patent & Trademark Database | [PDF] | September 22, 2006 |
| CCIT - Commercial Center for Industrie and Trade | [PDF] | March 13, 2006 |
| CPD - Central Patent Database | [PDF] | June 22, 2005 |
| Register of International Patents | [PDF] | June 28, 2004 |
| Register of International Patent Bulletin/Registre des données bulletin europeén des brevetes | [PDF] | September 5, 2003 |
| Institut of Commerce for Industry, Trade, Commerce/Wirtschaftsinstitut für Industrie, Handel, Handwerk AG | [PDF] | September 5, 2003 |
| Central Data-Register of International Patents | [PDF] | August 9, 2002 |
PCT applicants and agents should note that it is the International Bureau of WIPO alone which publishes all PCT applications promptly after the expiration of 18 months from the priority date (see PCT Article 21(2)(a)); there is no separate fee for such international publication, and the legal effects of international publication are set out in PCT Article 29.
In case of doubt in relation to such an invitation, please contact the International Bureau by telephone +41 22 338 83 38 or facsimile +41 22 338 83 39.
Other industrial property Offices have made similar warnings
- AT: Austrian Patent Office (in German)
- AU: Australian Patent Office
- CH: Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property
- DE: German Patent and Trade Mark Office (in German)
- EM: Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trademarks and Designs) (OHIM)
- EP: European Patent Office
- FR: National Institute of Industrial Property (France)
- GB: United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office
- IL: Israel Patent Office (in Hebrew)
- JP: Japan Patent Office (in Japanese)
The sending of these notices appears to not be restricted to the patent context; within WIPO, the administration of the Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks has placed a general warning on its website in relation to such invitations to pay fees.
