Bar exam (State of Bavaria)
PhD (Dr. iur.) University of Munich (LMU)
Certified specialist for intellectual property (“Fachanwalt für gewerblichen Rechtsschutz”)
German Attorney-at-Law
UPC Representative
Thomas J. Adam is a patent litigator and partner of the firm. He is a certified specialist for intellectual property (“Fachanwalt für gewerblichen Rechtsschutz”) with his main focus on patent litigation and on driving amicable resolutions of disputes. With a PhD thesis on patent infringement and the doctrine of equivalents in an international context (LMU Munich) and a substantial tenure with the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property, Thomas combines a thorough methodological understanding of international IP law with 25 years of hands-on practice as a patent litigator in all the major venues in Germany. He has more than 150 trials under his belt, mainly pertaining to multi-jurisdictional patent litigation. Technical fields he has played on include, among others, electronics and mobile telecommunication, chipset design and OLED screens, but also medical tools as stents and heart valves, and car components. His work, which often includes coordinating cross-border litigation and parties in Europe, the US and Asia, has always been intertwined with opposition and nullity work and, at times, filing strategies. Thomas loves one of the key assets of the firm, i. e. working door-to-door with patent attorneys and other technical experts and the collaborative effort with these and the clients to achieve their business objectives.
For about ten years, he was a frequent presenter in the framework of symposia for national IP judges organized by the European Patent Academy of the European Patent Organization. As part of his pro bono work, he has been appointed a member of the expert committee on Intellectual Property of the Munich Bar. Thomas´ propensity to US companies goes back to his time with a high-school year in Minnesota some 35 years ago (Kirby Puckett anyone?) and Howrey LLP.
Thomas is a co-author with one current and one former Justice of the Federal Patent Court in the leading German commentary on the European Patent Convention (Benkard, EPÜ, 4th ed. forthcoming), including on the Unified Patent Court (UPC). German legal directory JUVE labels him as “frequently recommended”. Though, among other accolades, Thomas has been regularly selected by his peers for inclusion in 'Best Lawyers in Germany' in the field of IP Law, it is the long-standing loyal and the returning first-time clients of the firm that truly motivate him. In the last few years alone, Thomas has helped clients achieve settlements worth hundreds of millions USD.
REPRESENTATIVE CASES