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Thomas T. Moga

Member

Thomas T. Moga has more than 30 years’ experience in domestic and international IP portfolio development and enforcement. A pioneer in protecting and enforcing IP rights in China, Tom has represented foreign companies there since the 1980s. He is an experienced patent prosecutor in the mechanical, chemical, biochemical, and pharmaceutical arts and testifies as an expert witness in patent disputes.

As an IP portfolio developer, Tom’s experience includes the development of domestic and foreign patent portfolios primarily through the drafting and prosecution of patent applications for filing in the United States and abroad.

He also oversees a team that specializes in receiving and filing patent applications with the USPTO on behalf of foreign applicants.  The U.S. filing team includes experienced attorneys, paralegals, and a China-born engineer who was a patent examiner with China’s patent office (CNIPA). 

Tom’s experience also includes the acquisition of registrations for trademarks and copyrights, licensing, and policy development both at home and abroad.   

In the arena of IP rights enforcement, Tom manages a team responsible for patent enforcement and anti-counterfeiting, primarily in Asia, through the identification, monitoring, and halting of counterfeiting activity. Specific activities of the anti-counterfeiting team include:

  • identifying unauthorized advertising and sales activity on the internet;
  • monitoring and charting such activity in order to develop an anti-counterfeiting action plan;
  • overseeing initial counterfeit product investigation once infringers are identified;
  • selecting and working with local investigators;
  • selecting and working with local counsel;
  • preparing administrative and judicial documents; and
  • participating in raids.

Tom was a Fulbright Scholar in China, where he taught patent law at Jilin University and acted as a foreign advisor to China’s patent office. Tom was a visiting foreign expert in law at Xiamen University, China, and worked as a foreign legal expert for a patent and trademark law office in Taipei.

Tom is past board member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Fulbright Association, and the Fulbright Academy.

In 2018, Tom was appointed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to serve on the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (ITAC 13).

As the only representative on the committee for the U.S. automotive industry, Tom’s contributions include analyzing national trade positions and providing advice on a broad array of trade issues as they relate to IP for both the White House (by way of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative) and the Department of Commerce in pursuit of trade agreements that benefit U.S. businesses, workers, and the economy.

“Building and enforcing domestic and foreign portfolios require hands-on involvement backed by experience. I am fortunate to have worked with many inventors to obtain patents and to have lived and worked in Asia. There is no substitute for being there. ”
    • Biochemistry, cum laude, Madonna University, B.S., 1994
    • St. Louis University School of Law, J.D., 1983
    • English Language & Literature, University of Michigan, M.A., 1980
    • English Language & Literature and Political Studies (China concentration) (double major), University of Michigan, B.A., 1978

  • Bar Admissions

    • District of Columbia
    • Illinois (inactive)
    • Iowa (inactive)
    • Michigan

  • Court Admissions

    • United States Supreme Court
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
    • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
    • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
    • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

    • Named a "Patent Leader" by World IP Review, 2022

    • Selected by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as a “Go To Lawyer” for Intellectual Property Law, 2022

    • Recognized by Global Law Experts as the "Anti-Counterfeiting Law - Lawyer of the Year" in Michigan, 2019

    • Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® for Litigation - Patent; Patent Law; Technology Law 2010-Present

    • Named by The Best Lawyers in America® as Litigation-Patent "Lawyer of the Year," Detroit, Mich., 2018

    • Named by Law & Politics magazine as a Washington, D.C. Super Lawyer in Intellectual Property, 2013-2016

    • Listed in Legal Media Group’s Guide to Leading Practitioners: China, 2011, 2012

    • Recognized in The Best Lawyers for Intellectual Property Law, 2010

    • Recognized in Crain’s Detroit Business “Top 40 Under 40," 1996

    • Patentee, U.S. Patent No. 6,552,191, for “Self-Adjusting Water Pressure Responsive Diver’s Weight Belt Assembly”

    • Board Member, Association Internationale pour le Développement de la Propriété Intellectuelle

    • Chair, MichBio’s IP & Legal Affairs Committee

    • State Bar of Michigan, International Law Section

    • Intellectual Property Advisor, Equalize Health, 2022

    • Special Assistant Attorney General for Intellectual Property, State of Michigan (2021 – present)
    • Board of Directors for the Oakwood Homeowners’ Association, Mackinac Island, MI
    • Elected to the Class of 2019 AIPLA Fellows
    • Member, Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (ITAC 13), a trade advisory committee co-administered by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the U.S. Department of Commerce (2018 – present)
    • Member, Board of Directors, American Intellectual Property Law Association (November 2015 – 2018)
    • Member, Board of Directors, Fulbright Association (January 2014 – 2017)
    • Member, Board of Directors, Fulbright Academy (January 2012 –December 2013)
    • Reviewer, English-language version of the Commissioner’s Annual Report, State Intellectual Property Office, China, 2008 – 2012

    • Adjunct law school instructor, the University of Toledo School of Law and Cooley Law School’s LLM program. Courses taught include Patent Law, Intellectual Property in Asia, International Intellectual Property Treaties, and Biotechnology and Intellectual Property.

Latest News and Insights

Publications12.20.24

Intellectual Property Update and Year in Review | December 2024

In this newsletter, we offer insights into key developments from the past year and explore factors…

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One Minute Matters Video Series12.12.24

One Minute Matters [Video]: How Do You Make Sure Your Patent Is Protected Overseas? (with Tom Moga)

What do you do when the patent meant to safeguard your invention is invalidated? If that patent is…

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Speaking Engagements9.25.24

Strategies for protecting and enforcing intellectual property in the PRC: What Utah businesses need to know

Tom Moga will serve as a featured presenter at the USTPO's China IP Road Show…

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