TM TKO’s watch tools are a great way to find new clients, not just to protect your existing clients. Let’s walk through how we can find unrepresented applicants in your area facing complex prosecution problems. Let’s say you are based in Birmingham, AL, and you want to target in-state, unrepresented applicants facing Office Actions.

Go to “Watch” then “New Watch” then “Office Action.” Give your watch a name, like “Alabama Biz Dev Watch.” Pick the frequency you want updates – we will do “Daily” for this example.

Under “Trademark Critera,” select “Attorney Representation” and “No.” This will remove applications that have counsel of record listed. (Some in-house counsel do not use this field, so be sure to take a look.) Click “Add Rule” and select “Owner Addresses,” and add “any” of “AL” or “Alabama.”

Leave “Cited Trademark Criteria” blank.

Under “Office Action Criteria,” add “Direction” and select “Outgoing (PTO)” to see new outbound Office Actions. Then “Add Rule” and add “Issue Type” if you want to limit to only certain types of Office Action content.

If you plan on using a mail merge as a part of your outreach, select “Include CSV results file with notification” and you will get an Excel-style spreadsheet that’s simple to use for custom communications.

A screenshot showing a representative custom watch is below. You can do all sorts of issue targeting, geotargeting, or even focus on upcoming post-registration deadlines using a similar “Trademark” watch – there’s no limit to the opportunities you can uncover.

Of course, be sure to follow your local jurisdiction’s rules about attorney advertising. Good luck finding new clients and expanding your business!