C. Lawyer Ethical Decision Making: Justifying Enforcement of
Weak IP Claims
Aggressive trademark and copyright enforcement can sometimes
be very effective, according to the interviewed lawyers. But does
aggressive enforcement raise any ethical concerns? A number of the
interviews addressed this issue extensively. The questioning on this
topic typically opened with a discussion of whether a particular
enforcement effort or tactic that had been described had been
“proper.” Sometimes the question was framed as to whether it had
been “ethical.” Either way, the interviewed lawyers had ready
justifications for enforcing even admittedly weak IP claims on behalf
of clients: