This morning I received an e-mail “Notice of Publication” on a trademark case, the first one of these I remember seeing. Here’s the notice (redacted):
NOTICE OF PUBLICATION
Serial Number: 55-555,555
Mark: TRADEMARK (STANDARD CHARACTER MARK)
International Class(es): 555
Applicant: ACME, LLC
Attorney Reference Number: 012345
The mark identified above has been published in the Trademark Official Gazette (OG) on Mar 9, [...]
Category Archives: IP Law Practice
Downloading a 142 MB PDF from the USPTO
LegalZoom sued for Unauthorized Practice of Law
Gene Quinn at IPWatchDog reports that LegalZoom has been sued (class action lawsuit) for “unauthorized practice of law” in Missouri, allegedly for offering legal advice regarding a will and for preparing incorporation documents.
Other related blog posts I turned up on this topic:
Gene Quinn on LegalZoom and the filing of trademark applications in “LegalZoom Continues Unauthorized [...]
Social Media and Law Blogs 101
Links to two of my recent articles written for lawyers:
Law Blogs 101, The Idaho Law Report, January 19, 2010.
Social Media Opens Up a Variety of New Professional Connections, The Advocate (Official Publication of the Idaho State Bar), vol. 53, no. 1, p. 35-36 (2010).
Why entrepreneurs hate lawyers
Read: Venture Hacks blog on Top 10 reasons why entrepreneurs hate lawyers.
Note: Eight of his reasons are about failures to communicate, the other two are about money.
Resolve to be an Advisor
RULE 2.1: ADVISOR
In representing a client, a lawyer shall exercise independent professional judgment and render candid advice. In rendering advice, a lawyer may refer not only to law but to other considerations such as moral, economic, social and political factors, that may be relevant to the client’s situation.
Rule 2.1 does not say you need to [...]
My Advice for 2010
The best book I read in 2009 was Seth Godin’s “The Dip.” If you haven’t read it, DO.
In “The Dip,” Godin mentions the following passage from the Declaration of Independence:
…all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they [...]
Winner – 2009 The Marty Schwimmer Best Practice-Specific Blog
I was shocked to find out this morning that this blog won (along with Patrick Lamb’s In Search of Perfect Client Service blog) one of Dennis Kennedy’s 2009 Law-related Blogging Awards (“The Blawggies”), namely “The Marty Schwimmer Best Practice-Specific Blog.”
As Dennis describes it:
I named this award for Marty Schwimmer’s lifetime achievement with The Trademark Blog in setting [...]
Blog recommendation: Nolo’s “Dear Rich” blog
One blog I stumbled on recently that is a great resource for learning how to answer those “miscellaneous” questions patent practitioners get from prospective clients is Nolo’s “Dear Rich” blog (written by attorney Richard Stim).
Example posts/questions:
Can I use a legal trial transcript in a play?
Can we name our band after a character in a movie?
Can [...]
Firefox extension for cut/paste Westlaw/Lexis citations
I rarely use Westlaw/Lexis, but the CiteGenie FireFox extension could be really useful for those of you whom do.
As their website points out:
Cutting and pasting when doing legal research using your browser is simple. But having to construct the citation for what you pasted is not so simple. This is especially true with legal citations [...]
Google adds free legal case law research
Via this article: Free Legal Research by Google & What It Means : My Shingle, Google has released the ability to search case law for free, including state case law. UNREAL.
To test it out, use this URL: http://scholar.google.com/advanced_scholar_search?hl=en&as_sdt=2000. Scroll towards the bottom to select “Legal opinions and journals.”
This day was probably something the “other” case [...]
