When things do not go to plan

Scam Letters & Spam

Because the register is public, you will be contacted with official-looking offers, most are scams. Here is how to tell real from fake.

Public

A watch-out

Video explainer

Coming soon, a short walkthrough of this stage.

What are trademark scam letters?

The UK trademark register is public. The moment you apply, your name and address are visible, and you will receive official-looking letters and emails inviting you to ‘register’, ‘renew’, ‘publish’ or ‘protect’ your mark, often with urgent deadlines and a fee. The overwhelming majority are scams from private companies, not the IPO.

There are also genuine communications, from the IPO, and from us. The skill is telling them apart, and the safest habit is simple: do not pay or reply to anything before checking with us.

What to do & be aware of

The IPO never asks you to pay via a random letter with a foreign bank account.
Be suspicious of urgency, unfamiliar logos, and odd web addresses.
Real updates from us appear on your Temmy portal, check there first.
We keep a directory of known scams, if in doubt, forward it to us before acting.

Common questions

How do I reduce the scam emails and letters I receive?

Appoint a representative and use our Care of Address, so your own address is hidden from the public register. That cuts the mail at source, and it is included in representation from just £14/month.

Answered by Matthew Griffiths, Commercial Director

How can I tell a genuine IPO letter from a scam?

The IPO will not chase you for payment via a random letter with a foreign bank account. Be wary of urgency, odd logos and unfamiliar web addresses. When in doubt, check with us, genuine updates appear on your portal.

Answered by Matthew Griffiths, Commercial Director

I think I have paid a scam, what should I do?

Stop any further payments, keep the correspondence, and contact us, we will help you work out what it was and what to do next.

Answered by Matthew Griffiths, Commercial Director

Track it live

See every step on your Temmy portal.

We set your application live so you can see exactly where it is, in real time. Need login details? Just ask and we will send you a link.

Prefer it handled

Representation from £14/month.

Includes our Care of Address, which keeps your home address off the public register and cuts scam mail at source.

Learn more →

Free 15-minute call with a trademark specialist.

No obligation. Bring your name, logo or tagline and we will tell you where you stand.

Figures are derived from analysis of the public UK Intellectual Property Office trademark register (applications filed 2015 to 2023, a settled cohort of 1,340,875 marks). They describe the typical journey of a UK trademark application and are for general information, every application is different.