January, 2006

We became aware that many of our clients who have EP applications have been receiving Notices from the company “F.I.P.T.R.” (Federate Institute for Patent & Trademark Registry) at 6574 North State Road 7, Suite 337, Coconut Creek, FL 33073, U.S.A., under the title “Register of European Patent Bulletin” proposing the insertion of data regarding those patents in a database of said company and charging the amount of € 1529,30.

The way those Notices are written, namely the use of the expression “Registration of the patent application”, may lead the clients to believe that their patent applications will enjoy some sort of protection by paying that amount.

In plain terms, the referred company proposes to place in its website information regarding patent applications at the amount of € 1529,30.

The insertion of patent application data in the referred website is not official and has no legal effect whatsoever. In fact, this is irrelevant for the granting of patents.

Furthermore, we inform you that European patent applications, their recordal and grant are officially published in the European Patent Bulletin by the European Patent Office (EPO); Portuguese patent applications, their recordal and granting are officially published in the “Boletim da Propriedade Industrial”(Industrial Property Bulletin) by the “Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial” (Portuguese Industrial Property Office).

Therefore, we strongly advise all our clients to consult us in case of doubts about this matter.

We are at your disposal for any further information you may need.