Oficina española de Patentes y Marcas

The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office has been alerted by State Security Forces about the existence of letters issued with the SPTO logo from a fake "Department of Crimes against Intellectual and Industrial Property, Consumption and the Environment. Specialised Crime Squad. Specialised and Violent Crime Unit”, signed by an alleged Regional Director and printed on European Patent Academy headed paper. In these letters, the "Spanish Patent and Trademark Office's Anti-Fraud Team” warns, ... about the improper use of “products and logos that are duly protected by law” requiring certain products and services to be withdrawn from the market or “authorisation from the patent and trademark holders involved be presented, and signed by someone with sufficient authority to do so, as well as an authenticated copy of the corresponding power of attorney”. The SPTO issues the following statement in response:

• The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office does not have an Anti-Fraud Team
• The areas of responsibility of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office in this field are limited to advising and informing State Security Forces in the field of fighting industrial property crimes
• The European Patent Academy is part of the European Patent Office dedicated to training activities, and is totally unrelated to activities to combat counterfeiting industrial property rights in Spain
• Any communication from the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office is always properly identified with the institution's coat of arms, the name of the Ministerial Department it is attached to (Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade) and the logo and official denominations of the SPTO.
• Affected parties should carefully study all documents that have been sent to them and, where appropriate, report them to the Security Forces

We enclose a copy of the document being sent by post