Trademark Attorneys Sanctioned for Part in Foreign Filing Scam

The US Patent and Trademark Office has suspended several attorney-sponsored support staff accounts on the office’s trademark filing portal, citing their allowing foreign filers and other unaffiliated parties access to their credentials, the PTO announced Monday.

The PTO issued orders suspending accounts sponsored by Julian Haffner of YK Law LLP and Grace Lee Huang of Meritech Law LLC on Sept. 16, saying they violated the Trademark Verified Account Agreement, as well as the PTO website terms of use, by sponsoring accounts for foreign individuals not licensed to practice law in the U.S. The PTO also revoked the two attorneys’ ability ...