Brain Computer Interface Developer Announces $33M Series A, Granted FDA “Breakthrough” Designation

Tom is a Partner in the San Diego office and serves clients worldwide in aerospace, mechanical, and medical technologies. He counsels clients on overall IP strategy, performs IP audits, prosecutes patents and trademarks, conducts pre-litigation enforcement of IP rights, negotiates licenses, and conducts offensive and defensive diligence such as patentability and infringement studies. As a former aerospace engineer with experience at NASA and Northrop Grumman, and holding a master’s degree in biomedical engineering, Tom’s legal services are supplemented with his advanced technical abilities in a wide range of inventive domains. Tom has particular experience with assisting startups from the conceptual design phase through acquisition. One recent example is Millipede, Inc., developer of a heart valve annuloplasty device. Tom prosecuted their patent portfolio and provided defensive patent diligence, resulting in investments and an acquisition by Boston Scientific totaling $540,000,000. Other example particular technologies in Tom’s patent experience include cardiac devices, intracranial sensors, prosthetics, aircraft and rockets, robotics, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), semiconductors, imaging and biosensors, high altitude balloons, control systems, thermal management systems, software, and more. Additional highlights include: 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 Inventor of the “Inflate-A-Brake,” a system for de-orbiting small satellites to reduce space debris Publications Coordinator for the firm’s medical device practice group, which leads the nation in medical device patent prosecution having obtained over 4,800 medical device patents since 1976 and 2,700 medical device patents since 2010 Member of the firm’s pro bono committee and coordinates with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office’s regional patent pro bono program to assist indigent individuals and non-profit organizations Co-Chair of the Licensing Executives Society (LES) for the San Diego Chapter Holds a minor in Chinese and studied Chinese language and history at Shaanxi Normal University in Xian, China