Canadian patent agent Miriam Paton’s signature was already forged on hundreds of U.S. trademark applications before she discovered what was happening. Her effort to clear her name, which she said took “a lot of phone calls and emails,” could help others who suddenly find themselves in a similar situation.  

Paton was alerted about being the victim of identity theft in June, when the Office of Enrollment and Discipline told her that she was the subject of a misconduct investigation, she said Monday during a phone interview.