Bio

Tom’s practice focuses on intellectual property and complex commercial litigation and counseling clients on intellectual property matters. Tom has litigated patent, trademark/trade dress, copyright, franchise and distribution, and trade secret disputes in federal and state trial and appellate courts, including the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and Eleventh Circuit, and before the U.S. International Trade Commission. He has litigated patent cases involving a wide variety of technologies, including semiconductors, computer and mobile device software, telecommunications, office and manufacturing equipment, medical devices, and building materials. Tom also has litigated breach of contract, business torts, defamation, and media law disputes, and claims for injunctive relief in a variety of contexts. Tom also assists clients in prosecution of trademark applications at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and litigation of cancellation and opposition proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board. He has represented clients in connection with cybersquatting claims and domain name dispute resolution and obtained the transfer of domestic and international domain name registrations. Tom also counsels clients in connection with trademark and software licensing and enforcement, negotiation and enforcement of franchise and distribution agreements, franchise system issues, and IP due diligence in connection with corporate transactions. Tom has represented public and private companies, from Fortune 100 members to small startups, and large educational institutions. He also has devoted a substantial amount of his practice to public interest matters, including pro bono representation of numerous indigent clients in connection with habeas corpus claims and civil rights violations, partnering with organizations including the Southern Center for Human Rights and the Georgia Appellate Practice & Educational Resource Center. He successfully litigated claims in connection with the failure by Georgia prisons to treat inmates’ serious mental health needs and to segregate juvenile inmates from some of Georgia’s most violent adult inmates. Tom also was a member of a committee that drafted legislation to create the Georgia Early Learning Initiative, now known as Smart Start Georgia, which developed and implemented long-term plans to increase school readiness in Georgia.