I am seeking a detail-oriented legal research assistant to support an active trademark and intellectual property matter. This is a fixed-scope research and documentation project with clearly defined deliverables. No legal advice is required — this is investigative research and organized reporting.
What You Will Do
You will conduct structured research across several government and public databases and deliver organized, sourced findings. Specific tasks include:
USPTO Trademark database research (TEAS, TSDR, assignment records) — searching trademark applications, registrations, ownership transfers, and filing histories for specific entities
SEC EDGAR / FINRA BrokerCheck / Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) research — pulling Form ADV filings, ownership records, and regulatory history for a specific investment advisory firm
State corporate records research across multiple states (Delaware, New Hampshire, and others) — retrieving entity formation documents, registered agent records, officer/director history, and name change filings
Web archiving — capturing and documenting public web presence of specific entities using archive.org (Wayback Machine) and archive.ph, with timestamped screenshots
Organizing all findings into a structured report with source citations and direct links to all retrieved documents
Who You Are
Experience with USPTO, SEC EDGAR, or state corporate database research strongly preferred
Paralegal, legal researcher, or law student background is a plus but not required
Exceptional attention to detail — accuracy and source documentation are critical
Comfortable following a structured checklist and delivering organized output
Reliable communication and ability to flag when something is unclear or unavailable
Scope and Structure
This project will be broken into milestones. You will receive a detailed research checklist for each milestone before work begins. Payment is tied to completion of each milestone with deliverables verified before the next phase is released. Estimated total scope is 15–25 hours depending on findings.
To Apply — Required Screening Tasks
To be considered, your proposal must include answers to ALL FIVE of the following quick tasks. Each should take no more than 5 minutes. Do not apply without completing them — proposals without answers will not be reviewed.
These tasks demonstrate you can navigate the exact databases this project uses. There are no trick questions. Just look it up and report what you find.
Task 1 — USPTO Trademark Search (TEAS)
Go to: https://tmsearch.uspto.gov
Search for the mark: ALUMNI VENTURES
Report: How many total results appear? How many are listed as LIVE? List the registration numbers of any live registrations you find.
Task 2 — USPTO TSDR (Trademark Status & Document Retrieval)
Go to: https://tsdr.uspto.gov
Look up registration number: 7678914
Report: What is the current status of this mark? Who is the listed owner? What is the listed date of first use in commerce?
Task 3 — SEC EDGAR / IAPD
Go to: https://adviserinfo.sec.gov
Search for the firm: Alumni Ventures
Report: How many results appear? For the primary result, what is the firm's CRD number, and what state is listed as their principal office location?
Task 4 — Delaware Corporate Records
Go to: https://icis.corp.delaware.gov/Ecorp/EntitySearch/NameSearch.aspx
Search for: Spike Ventures
Report: What entity results appear? For any active entity, provide the file number and date of incorporation.
Task 5 — Wayback Machine
Go to: https://web.archive.org
Enter the URL: spikeventures.com
Report: What is the earliest capture date in the Wayback Machine for this site? What does the site appear to be about based on the earliest available snapshot?
Final Note
Please also include in your proposal:
One example of a research or investigative task you completed involving government databases or legal records
Your estimated hourly rate or fixed-price bid for the scope described
Serious applicants only. This matter is time-sensitive.