MARQUES is pleased to learn of progress in Norway in tackling pseudo-official IP offices since the Anti-Fraud Network meeting this June.

The most active operator since 2011 has been Varemerkeorganisasjonen, which offers renewals for 4 to 5 times the official fee and has misled and frustrated large quantities of trade mark holders over the years. The renewal fee is actually paid to the Norwegian Intellectual Property Office (NIPO). A few rights holders have reported this activity to the police, whom the NIPO has supplied with information. While the seriousness of these misleading offers, their quantity, the risk of reduced credibility and reputation of the trade mark system and of NIPO as a public office have been drawn to the attention of the police, the latter have taken no action to date.

This operator is registered in Belize and renewal fees paid to NIPO are received from “Global Finance Service” in Latvia, where we believe that their customer support is situated.

There has been some success in getting the media interested in this matter, resulting in the publication of several articles in regional and national newspapers. NIPO has been interviewed on the radio, inluding a news story in June on “Dagsrevyen”, the public service broadcaster NRK’s national evening newscast. Examples can be accessed here (where you can see the newscast and the web article), here and here -- all in Norwegian.

How does Varemerkeorganisasjonen AS do business?

•       They send “a reminder” to the trade mark holder in the name of ‘Varemerkeorganisasjonen AS’. The reminder looks like an invoice, but the small print states that it is only an offer. This is sufficient to mislead customers into believing that the reminder is official or that it has been sent from the office that handles trade mark registrations.
•       The customer signs the reminder, and receives an invoice.
•       The money (NOK 11,350, in contrast with the official fee of NOK 2 600) is paid to the Global Finance Service’s” Norwegian bank account in “DnB”.
•       NIPO receives the renewal fee from that same account, which means that the money for the fees stays in Norway, while the profit probably is being transferred abroad.
•       The operator does not pay VAT in Norway.

The Norwegian tax authorities have sought to litigate the issue of VAT liability before the Court of Oslo and the Court of Appeal (2012). However, since the services offered by Varemerkeorganisasjonen AS are described as being “remotely delivered”, the tax authorities' action failed.

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Varemerke Byraa is the latest operator to be identified.  Established in May 2014, this business has just recently started sending out similar offers.  NIPO considers that the offers this company makes are misleading, since customers continuously report their frustrations and worries. No payment has yet been received by Varemerke byraa, possibly because it has so recently been set up.

Finally, here's a link to NIPO's updated website on misleading invoices (Norwegian and English versions):