Last week, New York intellectual property law firm Leason Ellis LLP filed suit against Patent & Trademark Agency, LLC in Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging that the company’s solicitations to trademark owners are scams and constitute unauthorized practice of law. Several causes of action are alleged in the complaint, including unfair competition, false advertising, and tortious interference with prospective economic relations.
The complaint references the USPTO’s warning regarding such scams as well as my blog post about the same company: Beware of new trademark scam from Patent & Trademark Agency LLC. See paragraph 50 on page 9 of the complaint below.
Last year, Leason Ellis sued USA Trademark Enterprises, Inc. over similar practices seeking to take advantage of trademark owners and as part of a consent agreement it appears that the company is now out of business as the defendants in that case are now barred from engaging in intellectual property-related activities in the US. Stay tuned to see what happens with the claims against Patent & Trademark Agency, LLC.
Leason Ellis LLP v. Patent & Trademark Agency, LLC (complaint)
Trademark solicitations that are misleading and/or rip-offs continue to be rampant. But more warnings from the USPTO and from practitioners, along with more efforts like this one from Leason Ellis LLP to shut down the offenders, will hopefully limit their reach and eventually lead to their disappearance. For more information about Leason Ellis LLP, click the logo below:
