Lawyers Aiding Chinese on Fake Trademarks Targeted for Sanctions

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is targeting U.S. attorneys filing illegitimate trademark applications as it steps up efforts to halt a practice that can weaken the register.

The agency’s recent sanctioning of an attorney who filed thousands of fraudulent trademark applications, mostly from China, was the first signal of a stronger crackdown, trademark attorneys and agency observers said. A second attorney, who filed around 100 suspect applications, was sanctioned soon after.

The trademark office has increased its investigations of U.S. attorneys who are potentially involved in fraudulent activity with foreign applicants in recent years, and two September sanction orders ...