People | Thomas J. McGinnis

Tom brings a bottom-line focus to the practice of intellectual property law by fashioning legal solutions that fit each client’s needs and budget. These solutions include provisional and non-provisional patent applications, trademark registrations, copyright registrations, and trade secret protection matched to the client’s current situation and future needs. 

Tom has successfully prosecuted patent applications directed toward a wide variety of technologies, including medical devices, computing hardware, and software and business methods. He has advised clients on how to create reasonable measures against theft of trade secrets and on what aspects of their intellectual property should be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. He also has drafted and submitted several re-examination requests raising substantially new questions of patentability regarding issued patents being asserted against his clients.

Tom has extensive high-technology industry experience in software development, systems analysis and implementation. He has personally developed, and managed the development of, software written for a variety of computing platforms including web servers, application servers, cell phones, and specialized, networked computing devices (e.g. computerized point-of-sale terminals running a wired/wireless IP LAN in a retail location). Tom has experience implementing and integrating enterprise-level applications (including ERPs, such as PeopleSoft and JD Edwards) within existing data center logical and physical architectures. He uses the insight gained from nearly a decade of business and technical experience in the software and petroleum industries to maximize his clients’ return on their intellectual property investment. Some representative, recent matters include:

• Advised large, multinational client with a significant investment in proprietary software on how to protect the software using a combination of patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret protections.
• Drafted and successfully prosecuted patent applications directed toward computing hardware and software implemented inventions.
• Advised client on authoring of Open Source usage policies.
• Drafted and submitted several re-examination requests against issued patents involving software implemented inventions.
• Drafted and successfully registered trademarks for a start-up software company.

• University of New Hampshire School of Law (formerly, Franklin Pierce Law Center), J.D., magna cum laude.
• Georgia Institute of Technology, M.S.M. (M.B.A.).
• University of Kentucky, B.S. with High Distinction and Departmental Honors.
• Manager-Senior Manager, Radiant Systems.

• Admitted to practice in Massachusetts
• Registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
• Member, Boston Patent Law Association