Trade mark holders warned about letters requesting payment

14 April 2016
Release no. 110

New Zealand trade mark holders warned about letters requesting payment

The Commerce Commission is alerting businesses that they are under no obligation to pay an invoice being sent in the post by TM Publisher to New Zealand trade mark holders.

The invoice for $1,638 relates to an overseas trade mark registration service, which is not necessarily a service that the recipient has agreed to buy. Anyone who does not want the service has no obligation to pay the invoice.

The Commission is investigating TM Publisher; a company based overseas which purports to offer a web-based trademark registration service. TM Publisher’s bank account has been frozen while decisions are made about how to deal with the $200,000 in payments that have already been made into the account by New Zealand businesses.

If your business has paid this invoice, you may be able to get a refund. Please contact the Commission on 0800 943 600 or through our online form.

Commerce Commission General Counsel, Mary-Anne Borrowdale, says that unfortunately, this type of pro-forma invoicing model hits New Zealand businesses on a fairly regular basis.

“The trader here uses a similar method to the Corporate Portal and Global Map Index letters we’ve warned about before, as businesses are misled into thinking that they are obliged to pay for a service that they have not agreed to.”

“These schemes aim to exploit businesses by sending seemingly legitimate invoices in the hope that companies’ will pay them without reading all the fine print. In this case, some businesses have paid the fee, not realising that it was for an on-line listing on a private trade mark directory,” Mrs Borrowdale said.

It appears that TM Publisher has used details of the businesses and their trademarks which are available from the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) website as the same details have been used in the letter. TM Publisher is not connected to IPONZ.

Mrs Borrowdale said that unlike similar pro-forma trade mark registration schemes this trader has a registered New Zealand address and bank account, in this instance with ANZ Bank NZ, although the trader is based overseas.

“This example is another important reminder for businesses to always be vigilant in checking any unsolicited mail thoroughly, no matter how believable it may seem,” Mrs Borrowdale said.

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