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MI:33

MI:33

Protecting People and their Products™

  • About
  • Services
    • Trademark Investigation
    • Threat Mitigation
    • Due Diligence
    • Event Security
    • Open Source Intelligence (OSINT)
    • Litigation Support
  • Academic Citations
  • Landmark Cases
  • Media Mentions

Trademark Investigation

Intellectual property
Proof of use. Proof of infringement.

You need a trademark investigation when you are registering a mark, defending one, challenging someone else’s, or shutting down the counterfeits riding on your brand. We have done this work worldwide since the 1990s, from Guangzhou to Los Angeles, New York to Bahrain. We work under cover. The subject never learns who is really asking.

Capabilities

What we do

Verify use in commerce

We establish whether a mark is actually used, and when that use began. We date first use, track continued use, and document the gaps that signal abandonment. We gather the proof from a wide range of sources and assemble it into a clean evidence timeline your team puts in front of the USPTO, the TTAB, or a federal judge. It backs your own application and your Section 8 and 9 filings, and it powers an opposition or cancellation against a mark that is not truly in use.

Hunt counterfeits

We find counterfeit and infringing goods wherever they are sold, identify the sellers and the network feeding them, and trace the supply chain toward its source. An undercover online buy confirms the goods and locks down the evidence. We map the operators, the payment rails, and the right subpoena targets, so your legal team knows exactly whom to pursue and where.

Profile the opposition

Online savvy, financial footing, business acumen. You learn who you are dealing with before you make a move.

Run enforcement

We serve as your front-line representative on hand-delivered cease-and-desist letters nationwide. We defuse the matter instead of inflaming it. The national press has called our approach killing piracy with kindness, and quick and cordial.

Secure the domain

When the name you want is already taken, we handle third-party domain acquisition with your interest kept quiet.

Track record

Behind landmark cases

Louis Vuitton v. Akanoc

The first successful US suit to hold an internet service provider liable for counterfeiting. We were the investigators.

Chloé v. TradeKey

Our year-long undercover investigation became the basis for the first online marketplace held liable for counterfeiting.

Oleg Nikolaenko

Our work led authorities to the world’s largest spam ring and the conviction of the King of Spam.

Chanel v. Dror Krispin

A published example of our web-forensics method.

The deliverable
The LitPak®

When we make an online buy, the evidence comes back as a LitPak®, our trademarked package. It is a full-color, court-ready PDF with everything your legal team needs to file in federal court. The LitPak® has stood up across hundreds of federal cases.

Whether you are registering a mark, proving use, running an infringer to ground, or clearing counterfeits off the market, a principal handles your matter start to finish, in confidence.

Start a matter

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