Under NY Civil Rights Law Section 51, each separate publication of a person's name for commercial purposes constitutes an independent actionable use. Goldberg's systematic exploitation of Litman's name generated over 1,170 documented publications across six distinct categories of USPTO and public-facing documents. Each is a card in the deck — and each card is a separate act of misappropriation.
Distribution of Documented Name Uses
Count by Source Category
| Evidence Source | Count | Legal Significance | Key Exhibits | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USPTO Patent Front Pages (Line 74) | 905 | Each patent is a permanent, publicly searchable federal document displaying "Richard C. Litman" as Attorney of Record. The most visible and enduring form of name use. | Exhibit A (905-patent list); 12 annotated front pages; Attorney Switchover Analysis | |
| USPTO Outgoing Documents Filing Receipts, Office Actions, NOAs, etc. |
206 | Each filing receipt, Notice of Allowance, and Office Action response bearing Litman's name is a separate government publication. Identified across 21 patent prosecution files (IFW data). | 21 IFW JSON files; MECHANISM_OF_LIABILITY_MEMO | |
| Issue Fee Payments (IFEE) | 32 | Fee transmittals submitted under Litman's Customer Number (CN-37833) — each a financial transaction conducted in his name without authorization. | 32 IFEE PDFs; OCR extraction results | |
| Powers of Attorney Filed 16 of 21 signed by Goldberg personally |
21 | POAs are the mechanism of causation — Goldberg signed these as Reg. No. 44126, designating Litman as attorney. This is the direct causal link. Most recent: January 17, 2025. | 30 POA PDFs; POA_GOLDBERG_SIGNATURE_TABLE; Goldberg Federal Exhibit A | |
| Website Appearances (nathlaw.com) | 3 | Litman listed as "PATENT ATTORNEY" (no "Retired" disclaimer) through at least June 21, 2025. Removed entirely by September 2025 — after litigation threat. Wayback Machine captures preserved. | 7 website screenshots; Wayback captures 6/21/2025 | |
| Trademark Filings Lafave PTOL-85B filings |
18 | Trademark correspondence filings listing Litman's name. 18 PTOL-85B filings identified through Lafave connection. Demonstrates name use extended beyond patent prosecution. | Trademark correspondence records; Howard Kline email analysis | |
| TOTAL DOCUMENTED USES | 1,185 | Each use is a separate Section 51 "publication" — independent basis for liability | ||
The Single Publication Rule (Goldberg's Fourth Affirmative Defense) does not apply here. Unlike a single newspaper article, Goldberg's misappropriation involved 1,185 separate, independently authored documents filed over 4.6 years. Each POA was a new volitional act. Each patent application was a new filing. Each issue fee payment was a new financial transaction. The sheer volume and variety of source types demonstrates systematic, ongoing commercial exploitation — not a single publication with multiple copies.