Tom Cowan is Chair of the firm’s Mechanical Engineering Practice Group and has practiced intellectual property law for over a decade. As a former aerospace engineer at NASA and Northrop Grumman, and with a master’s degree in biomedical engineering, Tom excels at understanding and protecting complex technologies across a wide range of inventive domains, from aerospace, automotive and software technologies, to prosthetics, cardiovascular and transcatheter medical therapies.
Clients rely on Tom to develop and execute IP strategy tailored to their specific business goals. He counsels companies on overall IP strategy, performs IP audits, prosecutes patents and develops trade secret protections, conducts pre-litigation enforcement of IP rights, negotiates licenses, and conducts offensive and defensive diligence such as patentability and infringement studies.
Tom has particular experience with developing IP assets and defending due diligence in furtherance of financing and M&A activity. In just the past five years, and spanning the aerospace, mechanical and medical device fields, he has prosecuted patents and conducted IP diligence for clients in deals cumulatively valued at over $700M.
Tom was in our San Diego office for 10 years and is currently based out of southwest Florida.
Additional highlights include:
Speaker, Patent Basics for the Aerospace Industry, SAE International AeroTech Conference (2024)
Named a “Rising Star” for Patent Prosecution and Patent Strategy & Management in the Legal Media Group’s (LMG) “LMG Life Sciences” Guide (2023)
Named to Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch (2021 – 2024) for Patent Law and Technology Law, which “recognizes lawyers who are earlier in their careers for their outstanding professional excellence in private practice.”
Named to IAM Strategy 300: The World’s Leading IP Strategists (2019 – 2023) which “identifies the individuals who are leading the way in the development and implementation of strategies that maximize the value of IP portfolios”
Keynote Speaker, “Patent Basics for the Aerospace Industry,” at the 2019 Space Foundation Space Commerce Workshop
Former Mechanical engineer at Northrop Grumman, where he designed and tested complex structures and mechanisms for various spacecraft programs
Interned at NASA Armstrong Space Center, Aerodynamics Branch, where he analyzed data for the Quiet Supersonic Platform
Holds a minor in Chinese and studied Chinese language and history at Shaanxi Normal University in Xian, China
University of Florida Levin College of Law, J.D., Certificate: Intellectual Property Law; Moot Court: Corporate and Securities Law; President: Intellectual Property and Technology Law Association
University of Florida, M.S., Biomedical Engineering, Master’s project: Risk of Hypoxia with Medical Air Low Flow Anesthesia
University of Florida, B.S., Aerospace Engineering, Honors thesis: Attitude Dynamics and Orbital Lifetime Analysis of a Pico-Satellite with Deployed Ballute
State Bar of California
State Bar of Florida
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Electrical, Semiconductor & Computer Technology
Software & IT
Medical Devices & Procedures
Aesthetics & Implants
Cardiovascular
Catheters & Probes
Diagnostics
Embolic Protection
Medical Informatics & Software Systems
Minimally Invasive & Endoscopic Procedures
Prosthetics & Orthotics
Robotics
Spine
Stents, Valves, & Loading Devices
Surgical Equipment
Thrombectomy
Transportation & Vehicles
Aerospace & Space Technology
Air Conditioning / Heating Systems
Automotive Transportation & Powersports
Electronics (Audio / Video, Communication, Navigation, Security)
Engines & Engine Components
Passenger Transportation
Design Patents
Due Diligence
Global Portfolio Management
IP Strategy
IP Transactions, Agreements & Venture Capital
Patent Strategy & Prosecution
Patentability
Trade Secret
Trade Secret Protection Advice & Counseling
Trademark & Brand Protection
U.S. Patent Prosecution
- Listed in the ATTORNEY intel – “The Top 25 Intellectual Property Attorneys of 2024“
- Recognized in the WIPR Leaders Guide of the world’s leading IP practitioners (2024)
- Named a “Rising Star” for Patent Prosecution and Patent Strategy & Management in the Legal Media Group’s (LMG) “LMG Life Sciences” Guide (2023-2024)
- Shortlisted in the “US Rising Star – Intellectual Property” category in the 2023 LMG Life Sciences Awards Americas
- Named to IAM Strategy 300: The World’s Leading IP Strategists (2019 – 2024) which “identifies the individuals who are leading the way in the development and implementation of strategies that maximize the value of IP portfolios”
- Named to the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch guide, which “recognizes lawyers who are earlier in their careers for their outstanding professional excellence in private practice” for Patent Law and Technology Law (2021 – 2025)
- Named to the IAM Strategy 300 Global Leaders Guide (2021 – 2022), which features “leading figures in the IP world drawn from in-house, private practice, service providers and beyond.”
- Recognized by The Legal 500 “United States” for Patent Prosecution (2021)
- Named as “IP Stars – Notable Practitioner” by Managing Intellectual Property (2020)
- Named as “IP Stars – Rising Star” by Managing Intellectual Property (2018 and 2019)
- Named a “Top Author” by JD Supra Readers’ Choice Awards, (2016) due to the high level of visibility and engagement attained with readers in the medical device industry
- Inventor of the “Inflate-A-Brake,” a system for de-orbiting small satellites to reduce space debris
