IP Australia's website currently carries an "email scam warning" pinned to the top of every page: a scam impersonating IP Australia is targeting trade mark applicants, and anyone who receives an unexpected email about their IP rights should verify the sender before taking any action. As of 22 September the banner appears on the home page, the trade marks section and the forms page, and links to the office's official guidance on spotting and avoiding IP scams. That guidance explains that scammers send notices, invoices, emails, text messages and phone calls about trade marks and other IP rights to pressure business owners and rights holders into paying unnecessary fees or sharing personal information, and that others impersonate registered IP attorneys, using their names, images and contact details on fake websites and notices. IP Australia's three-step approach is to stop, without replying, paying or sharing personal information; to check, by ignoring the links, phone numbers and email addresses in the correspondence, finding contact details from official sources, and logging in to Online Services or the public registers to confirm the status of the right, the amount due and the identity of the sender; and to protect, by reporting the scam and limiting any further impact.
This is not a legal reform, but it is a real and common risk for Australian clients: fake invoices create urgency and use false renewal dates to push early payment, while a genuine deadline is still there after it has been checked. J&C recommends that agencies send Australian clients a standard notice on recognising an official fee request: IP Australia accepts official fees only through Online Services or the methods listed on its website, and its genuine emails end in gov.au; any demand for payment, renewal or a “registration fee” should be checked by the agency in Online Services against the status of the right and the amount actually due before anyone pays; a client who has already paid or shared data should contact their bank at once and report the scam.
