Thomas Pasternak

About Thomas Pasternak

Tom Pasternak has spent more than 30 years developing a nationally- and internationally-known practice focused on issues relating to patent, trademark, and trade secret litigation, licensing, and prosecution. He specializes in defending parties accused of patent and trademark infringement and the misappropriation of trade secrets. He has broad technical experience and has written and prosecuted hundreds of patent applications covering computer code, e-commerce, electrical and chemical engineering and products, construction materials, consumer goods, medical devices, and biopharmaceuticals. He has deep first chair experience and has strategically chosen a highly varied client roster - ranging from Fortune 5 companies to individual inventors - to ensure that he remains intellectually agile and can see issues from every angle. He further supplemented his skills by serving in the chief patent counsel role at RR Donnelley and as an in house patent attorney at Chrysler Corporation. Armed with this background, Tom protects and defends his clients’ intellectual property rights in district courts throughout the United States, the International Trade Commission (ITC), the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and the Federal Circuit and other courts of appeal in the United States. He also frequently defends individuals accused of misappropriating trade secrets and companies who have had their trade secrets stolen. He attended both the University of Chicago Law School and the University of Michigan Law School, from which he graduated. His undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, is from the the United States Naval Academy with a BS in mechanical engineering. He went on to serve as an officer on board a submarine in the nuclear navy, during which time he held the nation’s highest security clearance, before attending law school.

Experience

1. Partner

   Akerman LLP

   Jul 2016 — Present

Education

• University of Michigan Law School

  Doctor of Law (J.D.)

  1989 — 1991

• United States Naval Academy

  Bachelor of Science (BS), Mechanical Engineering

  1978 — 1982