EUIPO takes action to protect against fraudulent requests
The EUIPO has reassured users that immediate action was taken after detecting a series of irregular ‘Change of Representative’ requests.
Corrective measures and preventative actions were taken by the EUIPO to address attempts to replace rightful intellectual property (IP) representatives with fictitious entities.
The requests made by unauthorised third parties were swiftly shut down, with the EUIPO taking various steps to address the issue and protect its users. Crucially, this included the interception of all suspicious requests, with the majority already reversed.
Further steps to enhance safeguards included:
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IP filtering and blocking: Malicious IP addresses linked to the incident have been disabled. Enhanced domain-level blocking and filtering measures are now in place to mitigate future risks.
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Strengthened verification processes: Changes to the EUIPO’s internal workflows have been implemented to reinforce verification protocols before processing such requests.
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Reinstatement of rightful representatives: While the EUIPO has already reversed the majority of fraudulent requests, it welcomes proactive requests from representatives to reinstate their positions.
On its website, the EUIPO declared a commitment to safeguarding intellectual property rights and urged users to get in touch if they have any concerns around the issue, “The Office notifies Representatives if they have been replaced so Representatives are advised to regularly review their User Areas to verify the communications received.
“We encourage representatives to review their account security settings and stay vigilant, as an added layer of protection.”
Please contact the EUIPO if you have any questions or concerns around user security: [email protected]. For further information on the issue, read the EUIPO report here.