Andrei Mincov

And, you know, if you knew my dad, you'd know very quickly that this was the wrong way for them to handle it. And so he said, OK, great. I'll see you in court. And that was 1996. When Russia has just transitioned from the Soviet laws toward more or less free market laws around IP. And so there weren't really a lot of lawyers who knew how this worked. There were no case, so there's nothing.

And, you know, if you knew my dad, you'd know very quickly that this was the wrong way for them to handle it. And so he said, OK, great. I'll see you in court. And that was 1996. When Russia has just transitioned from the Soviet laws toward more or less free market laws around IP. And so there weren't really a lot of lawyers who knew how this worked. There were no case, so there's nothing.

And so he said, he came to me and said, can you take this case seriously? and go against the radio station. Like you're supposed to know law. And I used to sing this song with them on like hundreds of concerts when I was a kid growing up, right? So it was personal. And I saw what it was doing to him because he was pissed. And I knew nothing about copyright.

And so he said, he came to me and said, can you take this case seriously? and go against the radio station. Like you're supposed to know law. And I used to sing this song with them on like hundreds of concerts when I was a kid growing up, right? So it was personal. And I saw what it was doing to him because he was pissed. And I knew nothing about copyright.

I knew nothing about what you do in the courtroom. But I said, sure, let's figure it out. And so I took them to court. First hearing, you know, I'm there with my long hair and a ponytail. And there's this other lawyer. And I ripped them apart. But they somehow got the postponement. Next time, they had four lawyers on the other side. The judge made the decision that was not in our favor.

I knew nothing about what you do in the courtroom. But I said, sure, let's figure it out. And so I took them to court. First hearing, you know, I'm there with my long hair and a ponytail. And there's this other lawyer. And I ripped them apart. But they somehow got the postponement. Next time, they had four lawyers on the other side. The judge made the decision that was not in our favor.

I was sitting in my room reading that decision that made zero sense. And my dad came into the room and said, well, what are you going to do now? I did all the right things. I said all the right words. And I don't know what to do. So, well, if you're not going to appeal this decision, you should quit your law school and find yourself a different profession. And so I appealed it. We lost the appeal.

I was sitting in my room reading that decision that made zero sense. And my dad came into the room and said, well, what are you going to do now? I did all the right things. I said all the right words. And I don't know what to do. So, well, if you're not going to appeal this decision, you should quit your law school and find yourself a different profession. And so I appealed it. We lost the appeal.

At that point, I figured out what to do later. So we appealed it even higher, basically as high as it gets to the second highest court in the nation. And we won. And in the process, I got really, really passionate about helping people who created something that only exists because they created it to help them protect what's theirs and ensure that that doesn't get stolen from them.

At that point, I figured out what to do later. So we appealed it even higher, basically as high as it gets to the second highest court in the nation. And we won. And in the process, I got really, really passionate about helping people who created something that only exists because they created it to help them protect what's theirs and ensure that that doesn't get stolen from them.

So my dad was my first and favorite client, as I like to put it. Then I had a big career in Russia as copyright lawyer with the biggest international law firm in the world, you know, doing work for JK Rowling, Apple, Microsoft, DreamWorks. If you can think of a big business, I've probably done something for them.

So my dad was my first and favorite client, as I like to put it. Then I had a big career in Russia as copyright lawyer with the biggest international law firm in the world, you know, doing work for JK Rowling, Apple, Microsoft, DreamWorks. If you can think of a big business, I've probably done something for them.

And then in 07, I realized that I had enough of Russia and I moved to Canada just to start everything from scratch. IP has a lot more similarities than many other areas of law because so much of it is done in accordance with international treaties that allow IP owners to protect their stuff in different countries. And so when I went back to the Canadian law school, I said to myself, you know what?

And then in 07, I realized that I had enough of Russia and I moved to Canada just to start everything from scratch. IP has a lot more similarities than many other areas of law because so much of it is done in accordance with international treaties that allow IP owners to protect their stuff in different countries. And so when I went back to the Canadian law school, I said to myself, you know what?

This is a good opportunity for you to try other areas of law and see if you like them. Maybe you fell in love with IP just because of your dad. Maybe there's something else. The only other area of law that I enjoyed, you're going to love it, was insurance law. Oh, wow. Because it was so technical and so logical and really was less about emotion, but more about how can we do what's right.

This is a good opportunity for you to try other areas of law and see if you like them. Maybe you fell in love with IP just because of your dad. Maybe there's something else. The only other area of law that I enjoyed, you're going to love it, was insurance law. Oh, wow. Because it was so technical and so logical and really was less about emotion, but more about how can we do what's right.

But I never went into insurance law. I kept with IEP because I realized that it's the one thing that I'm really passionate about. And so- finished my Canadian law school top of my class, got exactly zero offers from Canadian law schools.

But I never went into insurance law. I kept with IEP because I realized that it's the one thing that I'm really passionate about. And so- finished my Canadian law school top of my class, got exactly zero offers from Canadian law schools.

It felt a little bit like, you remember Rambo 1 when he's at the store and he says, back in Vietnam, they trusted me with million dollar equipment and here I can't find a job parking cars. That's pretty much how I felt with my years of experience, my PhD in law, my top of the class thing. And nobody would trust me to review a $500 contract.

It felt a little bit like, you remember Rambo 1 when he's at the store and he says, back in Vietnam, they trusted me with million dollar equipment and here I can't find a job parking cars. That's pretty much how I felt with my years of experience, my PhD in law, my top of the class thing. And nobody would trust me to review a $500 contract.