Yesterday, I received a call from the Law Society of British Columbia. It appears that a lawyer informed the Law Society about the video ad that I posted on this blog on April Fools’ day.

The Law Society’s position is that the video is a marketing material whose contents are contrary to the best interests of the public.

I decided to take the video down, even though I disagree with the Law Society’s conclusions.

First of all, there is no such thing as “best interests of the public”, because no such entity as “the public” exists. Each member of the public has his or her own interests. No person or organization can claim to represent the interests of a non-existing entity.

Secondly, in fact, I do believe that the contents of my video were beneficial for the interests of those who were choosing to watch it, because it allowed them to decide whether or not they wanted to be represented by someone who does not necessarily look or act like the stereotypical lawyer.

As I stated earlier, I decided to take the video down, since a fight the Law Society would distract me from the objective of building my firm and helping my clients Protect their Ideas and Cover their Assets™

Now the video is private and only available to my friends.

There is no better day to post this than on April 1st.

Thank you Pollux Chung for making this ad a reality.

UPDATE: The video was removed at the request of the Law Society of British Columbia.

Today I am extremely excited to announce the arrival of a new service, IP Strategy Review.

Most business owners with great ideas that need to be protected try to control their legal bills by not going to see a lawyer until they need to be saved. Some try to proactively limit the scope of lawyers’ involvement by googling something and coming to see the lawyer with a very specific (and often unhelpful) request.

No business can make strategic decisions about protection of its most valuable assets, unless it understands what these assets are and how they can be protected. With IP Strategy Review, I provide to you, at a fully predictable flat rate, a customized strategic solution outlining which areas of IP can help protect your ideas and intellectual property and which legal steps can be taken to achieve that protection.

IP Strategy Review provides a true benefit at a predictable cost, without forcing the client to pay for unnecessary services. It is a consultation during which we will discuss your business and determine which strategies would make sense from the legal, business, PR and economic points of view.

This service develops upon my two policies: I never sell my clients unnecessary services and I always prefer to sell value to my clients, not my time.

It comes in three packages. Please visit the IP Strategy Review Page for more details.

I have been running with this idea for several months.

Today I am proudly announcing Mincov Law Corporation’s “Shining Star” contest, a competition for children from 4 to 14 years old.

To participate, they should make and upload to YouTube a video of them doing something that will demonstrate their talent. They can sing, play musical instruments, dance, read, act, do sports, or whatever else that they (or you as their parents) consider their important achievements.

This is not an “everybody-gets-a-trophy” exercise. This is about talent, abilities, hard work or determination.

One of the reasons I am so passionate about intellectual property is my deep admiration for amazing creative talents of other people. People who can write music that millions of people want to listen to; people who write books that millions want to read; people who create movies, software; clothes that millions want to wear. Don't get me started about people who can invent electricity, dishwashing machines and the Internet. These people make our lives what they are today. The least we can do is to acknowledge their achievements.

I find it extremely important to reward talent in children. This is what this competition is all about.

Please read more about the contest.

If you are in the business of teaching or training talented kids, please click here.

I've been asked several times what Mincov Law Corporation's logo stands for.

In fact, it is more than just randomly grouped triangles.

Here, combined are three ideas.

Letter 'A' for 'Andrei'

Letter 'M' for 'Mincov'

Here's the famous puzzle where one is offered to connect 9 dots with 4 straight lines. The only way to do it is to go outside the box represented by the 9 dots. The quest for outside-the-box legal solutions is what distinguishes Mincov Law Corporation from many other law firms.