I received the solicitation below this week. The cost for a listing in the scam publication is a mere $1,650.00.  The publication has no legal or other significance. There is no telling how many (or how few) of these “catalogues” are published or to whom they are distributed. According to their website, “The collection is prepared without aiming at completeness; it is rather an informative and commercial publication.” I would love to be able to ask one of these publishers just what is the value of a listing in their expensive catalog?

It appears this group, TM-Edition, has been around for a few years.  Unlike some of the other recent scam solicitations, this one provides absolutely ZERO value. And the solicitation featurees no contract terms or details on the back, as some of the others do.

If you have any questions about this or any other solicitation related to a trademark, consult your attorney at once.

For more on these and other trademark scams, see the OHIM warning page.

 


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56 thoughts on “Beware of trademark scam from "International Catalogue of Trademarks"

  1. I just received a notice exactly like the one you posted demanding $1,650. Thanks so much for the “head’s up” against this financial predator.
    The fruits of their evil labors will manifest badly for them all. VL

  2. I received one of these today and immediately thought it was dodgy. Mine was identical to yours except it had my trademark, name and address.

  3. Ha! I just got one of these letters from those losers. It must be a new thing because I never received this letter when I filed in 2,003.

  4. I just got one too. It didn’t make sense to me that I had to pay a company in Hungary, so did a quick Google search. I wonder how many people just pay it without thinking?

    • Same here, got the same letter, different logo and address that the one above, but for $1250.00
      The sadest thing is, that unfortunately some people will fall for this kind of scam and send the money… some people are evil!

  5. We just received thisletter today after looking into international trademarking of a logo. Invoice was for $1,850. We are an Australian company and have reported it with the ACCC Scamwatch.

  6. This forum was very helpful. I contacted my Patent & Trade Mark Attorney who confirmed no affiliation with TM-Edition and that they are indeed a scam. Their invoice was cheaper too!

  7. Hi I received a letter in the post today from TM Edition, offering a copy of the listing of my TM in the magazine, if I place $1850,00 in their bank I thought it was a scam, i google and found this page thank you for having these scams updated for all

  8. I just got one of these today. Completely scam looking. Mine was for $1650.00. There must be people falling for this junk if they are still sending them. Probably larger companies that just pump the invoices in one after the other quickly and just pay. Scum bags.

  9. yes i received on of those today in the mail too! i thought Hungary???
    Anyway since i filed for this trademark thing, so many scammers found my address….

  10. We got the same thing today. These folks are probably laughing all the way to the bank. I’m sure not “contributing”.

  11. The same scam operates for patents. I have received a number of phony invoices from different outfits in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. They look very official and would probably get paid if they weren’t asking for so much money.

  12. Just received one today. I was very surprised, because I am Hungarian and I am planning to call them in the afternoon and asking what they want. I feel so embarrassed…

  13. I received one today, wanting AUD 1850, funny how it arrived, days after I received info from Trademark Australia about advertising in trademark publication. Thanks for the heads up, thought it was dodgy.

  14. If you read this post and you’ve received a letter, please post a reply to this page. That will help the Page ranking at Google and keep this site easy to find.

  15. I am based in Australia and recieved a letter the same as the one posted above, asking for $1,850. I guessed it was a scam coming from Hingary but am greateful for pages such as this confirming it.

  16. Hi there

    I received one of these scam letters too requesting $1850 AUD – it was pretty obvious ly dodgy but wanted to share my experimence too in case other are in doubt. Not sure whether these guys can be reported ? Not sure what recourse there is but it would be great to shut them down .

  17. I received one today for AUD $1850. Complete scam. I only had to check IP Australia’s site to find TM-Edition is an unsolicited company which sends requests. There are many others based mostly in Europe.

  18. Same scam letter, same asking price. Very unfortunate for the people that do get caught out and just pay it thinking it’s just a government type fee.

    However, maybe a complimentary $2000 catalogue of international trademarks will be a collectors item in a few years – it would certainly be rare.

  19. yep got this letter too, 3 times for each 3 of my trademarks. Did not consider this a legitimate letter off the bat, knew it was a scam and a quick google search proved it. Wonder how many comapnies just fit the $1,850 unknowingly

  20. Hi I also just received the same letter today for $1850.00 thought what is this my lawyers & accountant didn’t mention that I had to fork out more money.
    Then reread it & thought why is a firm in Hungry sending me a letter for money.
    So thought I would Google it to see if I could find any information & found your blog
    Thank you for this info.

  21. We received this type of letter dated Oct 22, 2014.
    We thought it’s for trademark fee. After looking at their website I found this blog. These scammers billed us $1,650.00 USD. Thanks for this valuable info.1690

  22. We have also just received the same letter! We almost paid it not thinking who it was for but luckily someone read it and realised it was not our trademark legal fee! And this blog confirms it. Thank you!

  23. Received one today, based in Brisbane Australia. Exact copy of above. Asking for AUD1850 – Looked suspicious from the start but not for the girl paying the bills…. I’m glad she asked. Thanks for your help.

  24. Thank you for the information! We’re in the United States and got three exact letters the same day from somewhere overseas. It looked sketchy and your website confirmed this. Thank you!

  25. Just received one now too.. bloody scammers.. they should burn in hell!!.. I am a small business operator and just recently have applied for a proper trademark here in Australia.. When I received this and saw the Hungarian address on the letter and Prague address where it was sent from I knew it smells fishy.. although I am originally from Czech so i did wonder about the coincidence so weird!!…

  26. Can’t believe this is still happening – 3 years after your first post. One came to us in Perth Australia last week.

    Thanks Erik for this website.

  27. Is this a scam?? Seems to me a scam is a fraudulent offer. This service doesn’t make any inflated promises–it seems pretty straightforward. You pay them, they publish your TM in a catalogue. At no point do they ever claim any benefits. legal or otherwise, from using their services. It’s BS, and a waste of money, but not necessarily a scam.

  28. Yep, I just got 2 letters for 2 trademarks I have applied for.
    Knew straight away something was suss… They are still around people hahaha

  29. Wow! I am so glad I took the time to look this up. I too, thought it was odd to pay a company in HUNGARY, especially this large amount. My letter was identical to the one above 1650.00. NO THANK YOU!!! thank you for the blog.

  30. Mine arrived today AUD$1850.
    I am old enough to remember all the ‘Fax’ directories that did the same thing back in the 70/80’s. Spotted it straight away. Has anyone actually received a printed copy?

  31. Just received mine today for $1,850. An exact replica of the image posted. Just didn’t seem right. Wonder how many poor sods fell for it.

  32. They are still at it! Received a notice today for a measly $1650.00 we can pay the Bank of China (Hungary) for a TM registration and we’ll receive a complimentary copy of the publication! Wowza – thanks!

  33. Hello,

    We received the exact same notice requesting payment for USD 1650.

    Thank you for exposing these scammers and keep up the good work!

    Best, Sandra

  34. Pingback: Beware of continuing scam from Trademark Edition - International Catalogue of Trademarks | Erik M Pelton & Associates, PLLCErik M Pelton & Associates, PLLC

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