Can a patent attorney run a classified newspaper ad telling inventors to protect their inventions and giving his name and address?

Plain-English summary

The inquiry asked whether a classified newspaper advertisement reading "Inventors-Protect your invention by applying for patent. John Doe, Registered Patent Attorney," with an address and phone number, would violate the Canons.

The Committee unanimously concluded that the advertisement, if inserted in a newspaper by a member of the Bar, would violate Canon 24, which prohibits solicitation, direct or indirect (10-0).

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1954, under the former Texas Canons of Ethics, which the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct replaced effective January 1, 1990. The advertising and solicitation restrictions the opinion applies predate Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S. 350 (1977), which held that categorical bans on lawyer advertising violate the First Amendment, so the Canon 24 framework used here has since been substantially narrowed. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or requirement mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Could a patent attorney run this classified ad to inventors under this opinion?

A: No. The Committee held unanimously that the advertisement would violate Canon 24's prohibition on solicitation, direct or indirect (10-0).

Q: Did the lawyer's patent-practice registration change the result?

A: No. The opinion treated the ad as solicitation by a member of the Bar regardless of the registered-patent-attorney designation.

Background and rules framework

The opinion interprets former Texas Canon 24, which prohibited solicitation of professional employment, direct or indirect, applied to a classified newspaper advertisement. The modern analogs are ABA Model Rule 7.1 (communications concerning a lawyer's services) and Model Rule 7.2 (advertising).

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• MR 7.1 (communications concerning a lawyer's services), as the modern analog
• MR 7.2 (advertising)
• Texas Canon 24 (advertising and solicitation)

See also

• TX Ethics Op. 96: Newspaper Advertisement of Legal Services
• TX Ethics Op. 110: Contributor Credit Noting "Attorney"
• TX Ethics Op. 133: Office-Location Sign and Window Lettering

Source

• Landing page: https://www.legalethicstexas.com/resources/opinions/opinion-93/
• Original PDF: https://tcle-web.s3.amazonaws.com/public/documents/Opinion_93.pdf

Original opinion text

Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.

QUESTION PRESENTED

Would the following advertisement, inserted in the classified section of a newspaper, violate the Canons of Ethics:

"InventorsΧProtect your invention by applying for patent. John Doe, Registered Patent Attorney, 100 Blank Building, EX 1234."?

18 Baylor L. Rev. 233 (1966)

SOLICITATION - CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENT - NEWSPAPERS
A classified advertisement in a newspaper directed to inventors stating, "Protect your invention by applying for a patent" giving the name and address of an attorney is improper.

Canon 24.

The members of the committee are unanimously of the opinion that the above advertisement, if inserted in a newspaper by a member of the Bar, would constitute a violation of Canon 24, which prohibits solicitation, direct or indirect. (10-0)

Tex. Comm. On Professional Ethics, Op. 93 (1954)