Practice note · Intake
Send the question, not the whole file.
An initial IP enforcement referral needs enough public information to clear conflicts and define the first decision. It does not need confidential strategy, accused-party details, or a finished evidence package.
Published by The Law Office of Nicholas Lee · Updated July 2026 · 5 minute read
The first communication should make the matter legible without asking the recipient to evaluate substance before conflicts review. Five short items usually do that.
The useful first five.
- The public right. A patent number, trademark registration, copyright registration, or a plain description if registration status is not yet known.
- One representative example. A public product page, listing URL, image, or other accused use that shows the issue.
- The suspected pattern. Is this one seller, one product family, repeated content, or many accounts across marketplaces?
- The present posture. Identify any deadline, existing counsel, platform proceeding, filed action, or prior communication without disclosing strategy.
- The role requested. Evaluation, marketplace investigation, local counsel, co-counsel, referral, or a discussion about a possible enforcement path.
Conflicts boundary
Do not send accused-party names, confidential client facts, settlement communications, legal strategy, evidence, or privileged work product before the recipient confirms that the conversation can proceed.
Add one fact that is specific to the right.
For a patent: identify the claim or feature that appears to matter, if known. A product name alone rarely defines the research question.
For a trademark: identify the mark, the relevant goods or services, and how it appears in the marketplace use.
For a copyright: identify the original work, who created or owns it, registration status, and where the accused material appears.
For an Amazon matter: state whether the objective is listing removal, pattern investigation, seller identification, or a legal remedy beyond the platform.
What to hold until the conversation is cleared.
A large attachment can make a referral harder to evaluate, not easier. Hold claim charts, client files, non-public ownership records, internal seller research, draft pleadings, and prior-matter work product until conflicts review and the scope of the conversation are confirmed.
Public court filings can be identified by caption or docket number. There is usually no need to attach an entire record in the first message.
What should happen next.
The receiving lawyer should be able to identify the smallest useful next step: a call, a focused public-record review, a conflicts-cleared document review, a platform procedure, or a discussion of potential representation. If the matter is not a fit, the public outline makes that answer easier to give quickly.