Unauthorized Practice of Law

Non-Lawyer Ownership Of IP Firms: What Practitioners Need To Know

1 Comment / Unauthorized Practice of Law, Fee-Splitting / By

For many years, I have had countless communications with patent and trademark lawyers regarding expanding their law firms through partnering with non-lawyers.  This might include working with patent agents, as well as venture capital firms.  Each of these, though have their own considerations, and are briefly discussed below.  These inquiries for ethics advice have only […]

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Top Three Things IP Practitioners Must Know When Working With Foreign Associates

1 Comment / Foreign Associates, Office of Enrollment and Discipline, Outsourcing, Trademark ethics, Unauthorized Practice of Law, USPTO OED, USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct / By

As we noted in a prior post, the USPTO has gone on record allowing U.S. practitioners to partner with foreign attorneys by way of ownership of law firms, without violating the USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct.  However, practitioners continue to be surprised when they are told that practitioner relationships with foreign associates and agents outside

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New IP Ethics CLE: A Look at the USPTO’s Focus on Declarations

Leave a Comment / Ethics CLE, IP Ethics CLE, Patent Agent Ethics, Patent Ethics CLE, Trademark ethics, Unauthorized Practice of Law, USPTO Ethics Investigation, USPTO OED, USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct / By

On Monday, June 1, 2020, I will be moderating an ethics webinar panel discussion on behalf of the ABA’s Intellectual Property Law Section (for which I serve as Chair of the Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee). The webinar is entitled “A Look at the USPTO’s Focus on Declarations” and will focus on ethics issues relating

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Colorado Supreme Court Shuts Down Sham “Expert” Patent Law Firm

2 Comments / IP Ethics, Lawyer Identity Theft, Legal Ethics, Patent Ethics, Unauthorized Practice of Law / By

On February 6, 2019, the Colorado Supreme Court shuttered a Colorado business, which once billed itself as an “expert patent law” firm, and its owner, for engaging in the unauthorized practice of law. According to the Court’s order (here), Intelligent Patent Services, LLC (IPS) and its non-lawyer owner, Dak Steiert, are enjoined from engaging in

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Colorado Man Stole Lawyer’s Identity To Create Fictional Online Law Firm: Criminal Complaint

1 Comment / Fraud, Internet Scams, Lawyer Identity Theft, Unauthorized Practice of Law / By

Prosecutors in Eagle County, Colorado have filed a five-count criminal complaint against Dak Steiert, alleged mastermind behind a fictitious IP law firm.  According to state prosecutors, Steiert stole the identities of a real patent lawyer and two others to create a fake law firm which he used to lure unsuspecting inventor “clients” into paying thousands

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Owner Of Phony Patent Law Firm Wants Colorado UPL Case Dismissed

3 Comments / Unauthorized Practice of Law / By

The owner of a fake IP law firm that is being sued in Colorado for allegedly engaging in the unauthorized practice of law has filed a motion to have the case dismissed for alleged lack of subject matter and personal jurisdiction. Dak Steiert, the owner of “Intelligent Patent Services,” which purports to be a “patent

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Fake Law Firm Misappropriated Practitioners’ Identities To Deceive Inventors: Complaint

10 Comments / Unauthorized Practice of Law / By

From its website, “Intelligent Patent Services, LLC” (or IPS) appeared to have all of the trappings of a legitimate patent law firm.  The website included lots of content to back its self-proclaimed status as a “Patent Law Firm.”  The website boasted of supposed connections with legitimate organizations, claiming  its co-founders worked for Stanford University’s Office

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