Patent paperwork is tedious but mission-critical. Our goal is to make it painless—automating the clerical grind so founders, engineers, and attorneys can spend time on innovation and strategy. More break-throughs get protected, more deals clear due-diligence, and more attorneys tackle high-value work.
Ian and Zak come from backgrounds in patent law, technology, and intellectual property management.
Early in their work with startups, they noticed a common and costly dynamic: many founders and innovators were unaware of, or delayed seeking, patent protection until they started speaking with investors. This often led to higher expenses and missed opportunities to secure their innovations early.
They realized that the process of obtaining patent protection was complex, costly, and time-consuming, pulling focus away from innovation and growth. With their combined experience, Ian and Zak saw an opportunity to simplify this journey, helping startups achieve patent-pending status faster and more affordably.
By automating and streamlining key steps, Idea Clerk makes it easier for founders to protect their ideas from the start; and connects them to trusted attorneys and advisors when the time comes to expand their IP protection. The rest is history!
Ian Schick, Ph.D., Esq.
Co-Founder & CEO
Ian is a patent attorney with a Ph.D. in nanoscale optics and a J.D. in IP law. He co-founded Specifio, the first commercial AI patent-spec generator, and launched Draft Builders for on-demand drafting. As a Stanford Law Codex Fellow, he led the Machine-Generated Legal Documents project and founded the AI Subcommittee of the American IP Law Association (AIPLA).
Zakery Tutin
Co-Founder & COO
Zak has over a decade of experience leading IP-tech growth at Thomson Reuters, Clarivate, and MaxVal. He co-founded Paximal, an enterprise platform for patent automation, and serves on the board of the U.S. Intellectual Property Alliance (USIPA). Zak bridges the gap between complex IP technology and real-world usability, ensuring that the tools deliver immediate, practical value.
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The "Idea Clerk" name and logo are trademarks of Paximal, Inc., which is not an attorney or a law firm and can only provide self-help services at your specific direction. All content is generated using Paximal's patent automation engine and should be reviewed before filing. We provide instructions on filing provisional patent applications with the USPTO, and facilitate USPTO-registered patent practitioner review and filing as needed.
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