SCAM ALERTS & WARNINGS
UK Trademark Scams: Protect Your Business
A growing directory of trademark scams targeting UK businesses. Search by company name, read real examples, and learn how to spot fraudulent letters before they cost you.
Help protect others from fraud.
When you report suspicious or misleading trademark services to us, we fully investigate every report and may refer fraudulent activity to relevant authorities including Action Fraud, Companies House, Nominet, and the SRA.
SCAM DIRECTORY
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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Trademark Scams Are on the Rise Across the UK
Every year, thousands of UK business owners receive letters, emails, and invoices that appear to come from official trademark bodies. These communications look professional, reference real trademark application numbers, and demand urgent payment. In most cases, they are trademark scams designed to exploit the fact that trademark registers are public and business owners are unfamiliar with the registration process.
The problem has grown significantly over the past few years. Scammers now use publicly available data from the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) and other registers to send highly targeted correspondence. They reference your exact trademark name, application number, filing date, and classes, making the letters appear entirely legitimate. For a busy business owner, distinguishing a genuine UKIPO notice from a convincing fraud can be extremely difficult.
Common trademark scams include fake publication invoices demanding fees of up to £985 for inclusion in private databases, fraudulent renewal notices charging £1,320 or more for a service the UKIPO offers for a fraction of the cost, and threatening legal letters claiming someone is about to file your trademark unless you pay immediately. These scams arrive by post, email, and increasingly through AI-generated communications that are polished enough to fool even experienced professionals.
The scam operators behind these letters change their names regularly. Companies like OMPS, VPS, TPS, Distinction Law, Trademark Filers, Trademark Genius, and Stern Young & Partners have all been identified as sources of misleading or fraudulent trademark correspondence. When one name gets flagged, they simply rebrand and start again, which is why staying informed is so important.
At The Trademark Helpline, we have built one of the UK’s largest libraries of confirmed trademark scam senders. This page serves as your central resource for identifying and understanding these scams. Below, you will find our growing collection of detailed investigations into specific scam operations, including real letter examples and step-by-step breakdowns of how each one works.
If you have received a suspicious trademark letter, do not panic and do not pay. Forward it to our team and we will tell you within minutes whether it is genuine. You can book a free 15-minute call or email us directly at enquiries@thetrademarkhelpline.com.
Latest Trademark Scams
Scam Warning: Prestige Marks and Trademark Axis, Have You Received An Email?
Over the years, we have seen plenty of trademark scams. Some arrive by post. Some arrive by email. Some look like invoices. Others look like
Scam Warning: Trademarks Filers and Trademark Genius
One of our clients has received a new trademark scam email from a business calling itself Trademarks Filers. The email claimed that another organisation was
Scam Warning – Distinction Law, have you received a letter?
We have reported before that scam surrounding trademarks are on the rise. One that seems to be doing the rounds of the past few weeks
OMPS Trademark Scam Warning – Have you received a Trademark publication letter?
Over the years, we have reported on a growing number of trademark scams targeting UK businesses. One that continues to circulate heavily is the OMPS
VPS Trademark Scam Warning: Have you received a VPS trademark publication letter?
We are continuing to see trademark applicants being targeted by publication style letters that look official, use real trademark details and request payment for what
EUIPA Trademark Scam: Have You Received a Letter from the “European Intellectual Property Agency”?
It’s an ongoing source of frustration when, in spite of all our efforts to keep our clients up to date about trademark scam letters and
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