Trademark scam underway in NZ

There's a new scam on the loose targeting trademark applicants, according to a company email from AJ Park, intellectual property specialists.

According to the email, a "very significant" trademark scam in operation in New Zealand, involving misleading requests for payment from a a third party organisation.

"As many of you may already know, it is not uncommon for third party scammers to contact trade mark applicants directly, posing as legitimate 'publication' or 'government' organisations," the email reads.

"In many cases these scammers make requests for misleading payments. They get your contact details from official trade mark databases, and bypass your legal representative.

The company says they have had numerous reports over the last 48 hours of businesses receiving letters from an organisation called 'IDRTM – International Data Base of Registered Trade Marks' or 'TM Publisher' asking for payment of over $1600.

"This is not an official government organisation, nor is it an organisation that you should be dealing with," the company says.  "It has no role in protecting your trade marks.

The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) has also recently put a notice up on its website about this and other similar scams.