Patenting Tax Strategies

Can you imagine being sued for patent infringement, simply for recommending a common tax avoidance strategy?

Unknown to many in the tax profession, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has issued 41 “business methods” patents for federal or state tax strategies since 1998 and has another 60 applications pending.

For some tax advisors, patenting presents a golden opportunity to protect their approaches. But for most, it’s a minefield where they may unwittingly step on a competitor’s patented strategy and be suddenly hit with a bill for royalties – or even sued for damages.

While many of these patents involve tax shelters, some have been issued for more routine processes – such as a “system for performing tax computations” actually patented by one tax practitioner.

Prepare yourself for both the opportunities and risks of patenting tax strategies today.

This event features a panel of attorneys with expertise in intellectual property and tax law brings you up-to-speed on this unsettling trend. Our panel includes:

Robert O. Lindefjeld, Partner, Jones Day, Pittsburgh, practices patent, copyright, trademark, trade secrets, and unfair competition law. He has extensive experience in transactional, opinion, counseling and litigation and appellate work in state and federal courts and the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Craig P. Opperman, Partner, Morgan Lewis & Bockius, Palo Alto, is a partner in the firm's Intellectual Property Practice. He has worked with clients in a variety of fields and brings more than 15 years of legal and corporate executive experience to bear on designing and building conception-to-commercialization IP portfolios and strategies.

Glenn Von Tersch, Perkins Coie, Menlo Park, CA, is a member of the firm's Intellectual Property Group. He focuses on the procurement and enforcement of patents and trademarks, with additional emphasis on intellectual property counseling, licensing and related transactions.

William C. Weinsheimer, Partner, Foley & Lardner, Chicago, is a member of the firm's Tax & Individual Planning Practice Group, Estates and Trusts, and Tax, Valuation & Fiduciary Litigation Practices. He specializes in estate, tax, and succession planning for owners of closely held businesses and  key executives. 

You get insights into these and other areas of concern:

• Which tax strategies have already been approved or rejected by the PTO
• The likelihood that patents will be granted extensively for routine advice
• How competing tax practitioners could be sued for dispensing the same advice they’ve been providing for years
• Whether tax advisors can and should be charged royalties for recommending commonplace tax structures, based on a patent claim
• To what extent the Patent and Trademark Office and IRS have the resources for policing this area
• Whether and when Congress will step in to stop or limit the practice of patenting tax strategies

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