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  • Report:  #617840

Complaint Review: CARDINAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - CARDINAL LAW GROUP - Evanston Illinois

Reported By:
CIP_Abused - Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
Submitted:
Updated:

CARDINAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - CARDINAL LAW GROUP
1603 Orrington Avenue Evanston, 60201 Illinois, United States of America
Phone:
847.905.7122
Web:
www.cardinal-ip.com
Categories:
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The US Patent and Trademark Office slave labors scientist and engineers to lawyers. The so called PCT program is being used by CIP to help teach the lawyers science. The letter below was sent to the USPTO but they said it was their first complaint and it really doesn't matter. the DOL comes next and I will see if violation of federal labor laws matter to them. The head slaver is Frank, owner of CIP and someone that asks the newly hired scientist to write training manuals for free, no compensation offered, but you would look good.

Dear USPTO

I am writing the letter to disclose abuses by companies you hired to write PCT reports. The position is a lie and is tantamount to slave labor/indentured servitude. On many occasions I have performed work that took so long to complete that I made less then minimum wage. The contract stated I would make $300 per day, $78,000 pear year, no vacation, holidays, sick leave, or any other benefit besides health insurance. I made less than $35,000 last year and I am on par for making the same amount this year.

The position is designed for writing PCT reports, the searcher and writer get $300, and the reviewer gets $125. The problem with this is that the number of claims and the difficulty of the search could take up to 5 days or more for a search to be completed. The number of claims do matter. Private searches by companies are done by the number of claims, yet PCT searches are paid per search, even if it is 150 claims and 5 days of work it is still just $300. The USPTO confirmed to me that they do not pay their employees on a case per case basis since some cases take a long time, and nobody would work for them if that was the pay. So if the USPTO doesn't pay their own employees on a case per case basis, and private search firms don't charge on a case per case basis either, then why would the PCT program do this unless there was a desire to abuse people.

The reviewers are typically attorneys that do not understand science or engineering. Many reviewers send a case back asking for changes that do not make sense to those with experience in the field. Since the two companies doing PCT searches are both privately owned search firms the lawyers are always correct. Fighting over and over with inexperienced attorneys over their lack of education and/or experience or worse teaching them the science so they understand it and pass the case adds to the time spent at the positions, and lowers the overall wage.

The reviewers are also the classifiers and searchers themselves. They classify a case and then have the option to choose the cases they want, so only long and difficult cases are left over for the rest. Management swears they have people doing a case per day, but if you question them about case size they insist that is irrelevant. If case size didn't matter then why are the private searchers and USPTO employees not paid on a case per case basis (see above)?

So all in all the positions is a lie that is tantamount to slave labor, I personally have spent 10 days and over 100 hours on a case to just get paid $300, that is $3 per hour and much less then minimum wage. The position is not a case per day position and there is no working out in the wash. If the position was a case per day position then for every two day case I have I would end up with two cases taking a half day each. Whereas I have gotten many 2 day cases I have never had 2 cases in one day, and I have had about 3 cases that were half day searches. I have had many 2, 3 and even 4 day cases, not many 1 day or 8 hour cases. Finally I would like to point out to make the money I do make I work on Christmas, Easter, Memorial day, 4th of July.... There is not a day I do not work and since there is no vacation I have not had a vacation in several years since if I do I go hungry, or can't pay rent. As it is I cannot pay student loans, doctors, dentist or even by food this month without borrowing money.

It is a lawyer run business where scientists are indentured to the lawyers and the lawyers have no clue about science or engineering. For some reason I don't think this was it. If the contract I signed is invalid then the USPTO should not have allowed them the manage this program, nor take my finger prints and call me a USPTO subcontractor.

Anonymous.




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