VEGAS INC Magazine - Latest Las Vegas business news, features and commentaries about gaming, tourism, real estate and more
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/166188
S E P T E M B E R 9 , 2 0 1 3 / Y O U R b u s i n e s s - t o - b u s i n e s s w e e k ly SPECIAL FOCUS BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE This month, VEGAS INC highlights commercial and residential real estate. HOW CHRIS AUSTIN HUNTS DOWN PATENT INFRINGERS By Richard N. Velotta senior staff writer SAM MORRIS UNDERWATER GURU: RE/MAX Extreme agent Tim Kelly Kiernan specializes in short sales. Selling bank-owned homes kept him afloat during the recession. BACK TO THE HUSTLE WITH THE END OF THE BUSTLE In a stagnant economy, real estate agents turn back to the basics By Eli Segall staff writer D Usually, when F. Christopher Austin walks the aisles of the city's convention centers, he's a man on a mission, looking for counterfeit property and preparing for the fireworks that typically erupt when his team confiscates goods. Austin makes a living building copyright and patent infringement cases against companies that duplicate protected products and sell them as their own at local conventions. He works on an extremely tight deadline. After gathering pictures, statements and brochures from aggrieved companies, Austin has only about 30 hours to persuade a federal judge to issue a restraining order, allow police to haul away the goods and serve the offending company's executives court papers before the convention ends. Last month, Austin, an intellectual property attorney with Kolesar & Leatham, attended MAGIC Market Week, the massive fashion trade show at the Las Vegas Convention Center, to teach people about what's at stake when their products are copied. The value of counterfeit goods is see COUNTERFEIT, page 16 uring the fat, happy years of Las Vegas real estate, almost anyone could become a real estate agent and do well — strippers, blackjack dealers, busboys, you name it. Deals were so plentiful and easy to land, little expertise was required. ¶ Not anymore. ¶ Nowadays, it takes skill, hustle and a willingness to adapt to a changing, volatile industry to make it as a real estate agent. ¶ Years after the local property market crashed and Las Vegas' economy imploded, the real estate business is much smaller and more competitive than it was during the boom years. Outsiders who jumped in during the frenzy have left town, while the agents who remain jostle for a limited supply of deals. see REAL ESTATE, page 14 INSIDE TODAY THE STAR ATTRACTION | P. 7 A giant machine at UNLV helps scientists grasp solar and hydrogen technology THE COST OF PROGRESS | P. 11 Building the I-11 highway would create jobs and opportunity but cost millions DATA AND RECORDS | P. 20 Bankruptcies, bid opportunities, brokered transactions and permits THE LIST | P. 22 Chambers of commerce, by members 20130909_VI01_F.indd 1 9/5/13 2:19:33 PM