Trademark Scams: How To Spot Them, Avoid Them, And Protect Your Brand

Trademark scams are becoming increasingly common in Canada. Both the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) and the College of Patent Agents and Trademark Agents (CPATA) have warned that business owners and trademark holders are being targeted by phishing emails, calls, and texts from people pretending to be intellectual property lawyers, agents, service providers, or even CIPO itself.

These messages often use details taken from public records, create urgency, and pressure recipients to act quickly. There was a wave of these in 2024 that was noted in a variety of publications, but after a client of ours was recently targeted with such a scam, we thought it would be prudent to provide an update on current developments and best practices for dealing with such matters.