Responding to a Filing-Mill Problem: A Practitioner's Guide to Sanctions, the U.S. Counsel Rule, and Reporting
By Casey Scott McKay ·
A practitioner facing a filing-mill problem is usually facing one of four different problems, and the right response depends entirely on which. This guide separates them - a blocking registration that appears to be deadwood, an abusive platform takedown by a paper registrant, a client who paid a scam solicitation, and an attorney whose bar credentials were used on filings they never saw - and works each through to a resolution with costs and timelines. The longest section is the investigation, because every administrative remedy in this area requires a documented reasonable investigation and most petitions fail on that element rather than on the merits. There is a nine-source investigation protocol, model declaration language, a triage table for choosing among reexamination, expungement, cancellation, and argument, and a same-day response sequence for the attorney whose name is on filings they did not make.
IP and Technology > Trademarks | Guide | Published 14 June 2025 - Updated 9 June 2026 | Casey Scott McKay - marksy.us
Summary. A practitioner facing a filing-mill problem is usually facing one of four different problems, and the right response depends entirely on which. This guide separates them — a blocking registration that appears to be deadwood, an abusive platform takedown by a paper registrant, a client who paid a scam solicitation, and an attorney whose bar credentials were used on filings they never saw — and works each through to a resolution with costs and timelines. The longest section is the investigation, because every administrative remedy in this area requires a documented reasonable investigation and most petitions fail on that element rather than on the merits. There is a nine-source investigation protocol, model declaration language, a triage table for choosing among reexamination, expungement, cancellation, and argument, and a same-day response sequence for the attorney whose name is on filings they did not make.
Keywords: filing mill response · blocking registration investigation · reexamination petition strategy · expungement petition strategy · reasonable investigation documentation · reverse image search specimen · 37 cfr 2.61(b) request for information · 37 cfr 11.18 certification · uspto sanctions referral · stolen bar credentials · withdrawal from unauthorized filings · correspondence address hijacking · scam solicitation response · ftc and postal reporting · letters of protest evidence · section 1120 damages · platform takedown abuse · counter-notice strategy · malpractice notice · annual self search
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