Michael J. Thomas ( Mike )

Principal / St. Louis Metro Office

Michael has more than twenty-five years’ experience protecting his clients’ valuable inventions, brands, creations, and confidential information via patents, trademarks, copyrights, and/or trade secrets. He prepares and prosecutes patents and trademarks worldwide, registers copyrights, negotiates and drafts intellectual property agreements, and renders expert opinions of counsel. He has brought and defended lawsuits in federal and state courts relating to intellectual property and has successfully defended numerous patents in Inter Partes Reviews (IPRs) before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).  He also advises foreign counsel about the intricacies of US patent and trademark practice.

Michael’s patent practice encompasses a wide range of electrical, mechanical, electromechanical, and computer technologies including switching power converters, transformers, photovoltaic systems, electric motors and controls, HVAC compressors, Internet routers, virtual motion platforms, gaming systems, passive optical networks, digital signal processors, asynchronous transfer mode switches and systems, thermoelectric generators, telecommunications equipment and enclosures, videoconferencing and telepresence systems, touchscreen displays, high speed data processors comprising FPGAs, fire sprinkler corrosion mitigation systems, surgical and implantable devices, and consumer devices. 

His trademark practice includes availability searches, filing trademark applications in theBest Lawyers Lawyer of the Year Contemporary Logo WEB | Intellectual Property Law Firm | Harness IP US and foreign countries, filing international trademark applications via the Madrid Protocol, bringing and defending opposition and cancellation actions, and negotiating and drafting consent and co-existence agreements.  

Michael has been named a BTI Client Service All-Star for his “superior service, innovative thought leadership, and unparalleled legal skills.”

 

Before attending law school, Michael worked as an electrical engineer for McDonnell Douglas Corporation.

AWARDS & DISTINCTIONS

  • Best Lawyers, Patent Law, 2018-2024
  • Best Lawyers, Copyright Law, 2019-2024
  • Best Lawyers, Copyright Law “Lawyer of the Year” in St. Louis, 2023
  • Best Lawyers, Trademark Law, 2020-2024
  • Intellectual Asset Management (IAM), “Patent 1000,” 2022-2023
  • BTI Client Service All-Star, 2019
  • St. Louis Small Business Monthly, “Best Patent Attorney,” 2018
  • St. Louis University Public Law Review, Editor
  • Martindale® Peer Review, AV Preeminent Rated®

MEMBERSHIPS

  • American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)
  • Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis (BAMSL), past Board of Governors member, past Chairman of the Patent, Trademark & Copyright Section
  • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
  • International Trademark Association (INTA)

Education

J.D., cum laude, Saint Louis University School of Law, 1995

B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 1990

Bar & Court Admissions

Illinois

Missouri

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit