Michael J. Thomas

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 the 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.”

Background
Key Matters

Background

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)