Reminder: Unauthorised Patent Register Scams

A few weeks ago, in Patent Spam and Other Scams, we wrote (amongst other things) about the growing prevalence of "unauthorised register" scams.

As a reminder, operators of these scams monitor public databases for newly-published applications, and then send an official-looking letter offering to register the applications on an unofficial database – for a substantial fee, of course!  Many of these scams may be technically legal, assuming that the operators do indeed provide the unofficial registration service, because although the letters typically look like invoices, they usually include a description of their actual purpose and effect somewhere in the "fine print".

At the time, we noted that many of the letters include logos remarkably similar to the old WIPO insignia, and we speculated that it would not be long before they would begin to adapt to the new logo. Unfortunately, though unsurprisingly, it turns out that we were right.

WIPO recently added a couple of new examples to its scam warning page, for organisations calling themselves the "World Intellectual Property Database" (WIPD) and the "Register of International Patents and Trademarks" (RIPT, ironically as in "RIPT off," perhaps).

The World Intellectual Property Database registration form includes a logo that is a clear imitation of WIPO's logo and tag-line "Encouraging Creativity and Innovation", as the comparison below illustrates.

The Real Thing

Not the Real Thing

Indeed, we would have thought that this is a fairly clear case of trade mark infringement.  We wonder whether WIPO practices what it preaches, and has registered its trade marks?

We once again caution all of our readers not to be fooled by these scams!

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Before You Go…

Thank you for reading this article to the end – I hope you enjoyed it, and found it useful.  Almost every article I post here takes a few hours of my time to research and write, and I have never felt the need to ask for anything in return.

But now – for the first, and perhaps only, time – I am asking for a favour.  If you are a patent attorney, examiner, or other professional who is experienced in reading and interpreting patent claims, I could really use your help with my PhD research.  My project involves applying artificial intelligence to analyse patent claim scope systematically, with the goal of better understanding how different legal and regulatory choices influence the boundaries of patent protection.  But I need data to train my models, and that is where you can potentially assist me.  If every qualified person who reads this request could spare just a couple of hours over the next few weeks, I could gather all the data I need.

The task itself is straightforward and web-based – I am asking participants to compare pairs of patent claims and evaluate their relative scope, using an online application that I have designed and implemented over the past few months.  No special knowledge is required beyond the ability to read and understand patent claims in technical fields with which you are familiar.  You might even find it to be fun!

There is more information on the project website, at claimscopeproject.net.  In particular, you can read:

1. a detailed description of the study, its goals and benefits; and
2. instructions for the use of the online claim comparison application.

Thank you for considering this request!

Mark Summerfield

Tags: Scams