About Stake

We help deep tech businesses build strategic IP portfolios.

Our Process is our Difference

At Stake, we help scale your deep tech business and limit risk using our tailored 5-year IP Playbook. We work with your team to understand your goals, create a strategy, and secure your patents, trademarks, and copyrights—all so you can disrupt the market fearlessly.

IP Playbook

We’ll work with your team to create a 5-year playbook, complete with timelines and costs.

Implementation

Our team implements the patents, trademarks, and copyrights laid out in your playbook.

Management

We manage, review, and provide recommendations for scaling your IP portfolio.

The Firm

Stake is a full-service intellectual property law firm helping deep tech startups build tailored IP portfolios using our global experience and our boutique attitude. We are a global practice with clients across North America and cases in 60+ countries. Our work includes all aspects of intellectual property procurement, management, post-grant, and litigation.

Our Core Values

Our word matters.

We work hard to earn and keep our team's and our clients’ trust in our word and our work.

True customer service.

We strive to provide recommendation-worthy customer service to every client.

Strategic.

We don't just spot issues. We make recommendations, drive action, and work a strategy.

Excellence.

For us, it's personal: we strive for excellence both inside and outside of the workplace.

Our mission is to be scary good at IP law.

We’re an IP boutique, which means we don’t take every case. We’re focused on providing high-quality intellectual property legal services. We leverage technology, we innovate, and we think outside the box. We don’t constrain ourselves to “what a law firm should look like.”

Founder & CEO

Joshua Mertzlufft

Josh Mertzlufft started his career working with particle accelerators and machine shops. After earning a degree in Applied Physics and working as a mechanical engineer, he became a patent attorney to help bring cutting edge technologies to the market.

In 2021, Josh left big law and started a law firm for his dream clients: deep tech startups. Since then, he has quarterbacked patent applications all over the world.

Josh is good. Real good. He's as smart and hard working as they come, and his love for his job shines through with the HOURS of research and follow up he does. His engineering background makes him extra effective at his work and quick to understand difficult constructs. Great customer service, quick responses, and dedication to his work are greatly appreciated. I highly recommend.

I highly recommend working with the Mertzlufft Law firm for all of your patent needs, especially if you are new to the the patent process and need a lot of "hand hold" like we did. Josh took his time explaining the entire process to us and how our business we would benefit from the protection that a patent offers. We couldn't be happier with the way that Josh handled all the heavy lifting and insured that we were happy with the results.

Stake law is the place to go for anything related to patents. They are reliable, timely, fairly priced, and have excellent quality and customer service.

After much frustration in trying to find a patent attorney that I felt would look out after me, and my idea for a patent, I had just about given up. I looked into doing the process myself, but quickly got lost and overwhelmed in the world of patents. Realizing I could not do it myself, I narrowed it down to a couple of patent attorneys and prayed a lot about the direction to go. The answer I felt I received was Stake, and the first meeting with Joshua Mertzlufft was a confirmation of that answer. Josh is very good at what he does, patient in explaining the process, very detailed orientated, insightful, and humble. The process became fun and exciting instead of frustrating. I now have my first patent and another one pending. Thank you so very much Joshua!!

Josh is NOT your typical patent attorney that just goes through the motions to file some paperwork only to then charge you a big $$$ amount. He genuinely cares about your vision, goals, business plan, etc... He prides himself on putting together a complete game plan to achieve your goals. I've been an entrepreneur for over 15 years and I know how important it is to build a strong team of professionals around you. You're going to want Josh "the owner of [Mertzlufft] Law" on your team. In the crazy world of patents and patent law you need the best. I promise you Josh is the BEST out there.

I found working with Josh, as a new business owner very informative and helpful. Josh was easy to work with and understand legal verbiage. I absolutely will work with him again. Thank You Josh and STAKE

Honest, quick, knowledgeable, and reliable!