Oficina española de Patentes y Marcas

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I have received a letter in which a company tells me that I must pay a fee to have my trademark included in the register of protected trademarks. Is this true?

The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office hereby responds to the enquiries it has been receiving from various trademark holders and applicants regarding a letter/payment request sent by various companies requesting payment for the inclusion of these trademarks in Protected Trademark Registers or Publications. Recipients of these letters appear to be under the erroneous impression that this letter is in some way connected with the SPTO and corresponds to a fee for registration, renewal or publication for maintenance of their trademark.

The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office issues the following statement:

- The entity responsible for the protecting and registering trademarks in Spain is the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO).

- Any communication from the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office is always properly identified with the institution's official seal, the name of the Ministerial Department it is attached to (Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism) and the logo and official denomination of the SPTO.

- No relationship whatsoever exists between the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office and these companies, and therefore any payment made to these associations will have no effect before the SPTO and will not secure any protection beyond that granted by virtue of registration with the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office.

- Interested parties should carefully study any documents they receive before making any payment to ensure that they are contracting products or services that are useful to them.

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