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 urgent legal warnings.

This latest potential scam example caught our attention because it follows a very familiar pattern, but this time it came by email.

We became aware of this when a business recently contacted us via our website, after receiving correspondence from a company calling itself Prestige Marks. The email claimed that another party was preparing to register the recipient’s brand name as a UK trademark and that urgent action was required to protect their rights. We asked them to share the email so we could take a closer look.

The Email

The email was headed:

UK Brand Name Alert: Competing TM Request in Initial Phase

It stated:

Dear [REDACTED],

This is now the FINAL communication from our side regarding the trademark rights connected to the name [REDACTED].

You were previously contacted multiple times and were provided priority status ahead of the competing applicant due to your existing business presence. In addition, the trademark application form was already shared with you to secure your filing position, however to date we have still not received your confirmation or completed instructions to proceed.

Please understand that this matter has now reached a critical stage. The competing applicant is prepared to proceed immediately with the UKIPO filing, and your temporary filing priority is now on the verge of expiry.

Once the competing application is submitted, the legal position changes instantly under the UK first-to-file trademark system. At that point, the filing party may obtain enforceable nationwide rights over the branding within the registered classes, irrespective of your prior trading history, company registration, domain ownership, or informal commercial use.

Should this happen, the consequences may be extremely serious for your business operations, including but not limited to:

• Immediate cease-and-desist demands against your continued use of the name
• Potential legal proceedings for trademark infringement
• Forced shutdown, renaming, or restructuring of your branding activities
• Loss of websites, domains, social media branding, advertising material, and customer goodwill
• Significant rebranding expenses and operational disruption
• Exposure to financial damages, legal costs, and recovery claims from the filing party

Please note clearly that once the competing filing progresses through examination and publication stages, reversing or challenging the position may become substantially more difficult, time-consuming, and financially expensive.

If you intend to secure and protect the trademark under your ownership, you must respond immediately so I may provide you with:

• The complete filing process
• Recommended trademark classes
• Official UKIPO filing fees
• Registration timelines and next steps

Failure to respond now will be treated as your decision not to proceed, and we will continue accordingly with the competing applicant without any further notice or responsibility for future conflicts arising thereafter.

Please advise now how you wish to proceed by replying to this email or by calling us at [REDACTED].

You are strongly advised to address this matter urgently.

The Familiar Pattern

The formula is pretty simple.

Create urgency. Create fear. Offer the solution.

The recipient is told that somebody else is about to register their brand name. They are then warned of serious legal and commercial consequences if they do not act immediately. Finally, the sender offers trademark registration services to resolve the problem. If you deal with trademarks every day, the alarm bells start ringing fairly quickly.

If you are a business owner receiving something like this for the first time, it can be very convincing. And that is the problem.

The Name That Caught Our Attention

The email was signed using the name of a well-known intellectual property attorney from a reputable specialist IP firm local to us in Manchester. That immediately raised questions.

We have been unable to establish any connection between that individual and Prestige Marks. Rather than speculate, we contacted the individual directly to make them aware that their name appeared in correspondence being sent to UK businesses.

At the time of writing, we are awaiting a response.

The Companies

We also carried out some basic checks on Prestige Marks. The email signature directs recipients to a website and provides contact details which, on the face of it, appear professional.

During our initial research, we also identified another organisation called Trademark Axis. Prestige Marks and Trademark Axis appear to share the same address, and the websites appear to follow a similar format.

At the time of writing, following our initial checks, we have been unable to identify either Prestige Marks or Trademark Axis as representatives listed on the UK IPO representative database.

That does not automatically mean either business is illegitimate. However, if someone is offering trademark services, it is entirely reasonable to check who they are before you engage them.

The Phone Number

The business owner who contacted us attempted to call the mobile number provided in the email. According to the client, the number simply rang out.

That does not prove anything on its own. But when you put it alongside the urgent language, the use of a name that appears to match a genuine IP professional, and the lack of obvious UK IPO representative listing, it raises enough concerns for us to publish this article.

Why This Concerns Us

The concern here is not just that a business has received a pushy trademark email. The concern is that a business owner could search the name used in the correspondence, find a legitimate intellectual property lawyer online, and assume the email must be genuine.

Whether that is intentional or coincidental is not something we can say.

What we can say is that you should always verify who you are dealing with before making payment or providing instructions.

What Should You Do If You Receive One?

If you receive an email claiming that somebody else is about to trademark your brand, do not panic.

That is easy to say, of course. If someone tells you that your business name, website, social media handles and brand goodwill are all at risk, the natural reaction is to want to fix it immediately.

But that is exactly why you should slow down as these companies rely on a lack of time and understanding.

Check the sender. Check the company. Check whether the representative is listed on official sources. If you already have a trademark representative, send it to them immediately.

If you do not, get a second opinion before paying anything as a pressure tactic relies on you not having time to do due diligence.

Have You Received One?

This is not the first unusual trademark warning we have seen, in fact it’s very similar to Distinctive Law just handled by email rather than post.

If you have received unsolicited correspondence from Prestige Marks, Trademark Axis, or any similar organisation making claims about competing trademark applications, we would be interested in seeing it.

The more examples businesses share, the easier it becomes to identify patterns and help others avoid potentially costly mistakes.

If in doubt, ask questions first and reach for your wallet second and if you want any questions answered feel free to make an enquiry with us or schedule a call.