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Tom Polcyn

Tom Polcyn

Partner

St. Louis
314 552 6331 direct
314 667 3633 fax

  • OVERVIEW
  • EXPERIENCE
  • INSIGHTS
  • NEWS & EVENTS

INDUSTRIES

PRACTICES

  • Education

    • Saint Louis University School of Law,

      J.D., 1995

      St. Louis University Public Law Review

    • University of Missouri-Rolla,

      B.S., Mechanical Engineering, 1991

  • Admissions

    • Illinois

    • Missouri

    • US Patent and Trademark Office

  • Affiliations

    • Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis

      Chair, Patent, Trademark and Copyright Section, 2003-2004

    • International Trademark Association

      Member, 2001-present

  • Recognitions

    • Named Lawyer of the Year for Trademark Law in St. Louis by The Best Lawyers in America, 2018

    • Named a Best Patent Provider by St. Louis Small Business Monthly, 2018

    • Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rated

    • Lexology "Client Choice" Award for Intellectual Property - Trademarks - 2017

    • Named Lawyer of the Year for Copyright Law in St. Louis by The Best Lawyers in America, 2017

    • Listed in Chambers USA - Band 1 as a leading lawyer for Intellectual Property Law in Missouri, 2012-Present

    • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 2009-Present

      Copyright Law, Patent Law, Trademark Law

    • Named Lawyer of the Year for Patent Law in St. Louis by Best Lawyers, 2016

    • Listed in Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers, 2011-Present

      Top 50 in St. Louis, 2013

    • Up & Coming Attorneys Class of 2007

      Missouri Lawyers Weekly

    • 40 Under 40 Class of 2004

      St. Louis Business Journal

  • Employment

    • Thompson Coburn LLP

      Partner, 2003-Present

    • Howell & Haferkamp, L.C.

  • Instruction

    • Washington University School of Law


      Adjunct Professor, 2001-2004

Tom provides strategic intellectual property counseling to some of the world's largest consumer products companies and service providers, with a focus on IP portfolio management, licensing and enforcement. He is the co-chair of Thompson Coburn's Intellectual Property Practice Group and a member of the Firm's Management Committee.

Tom has spent his career helping companies protect their brands across the country and around the world. He excels at building strong, transparent relationships with in-house legal teams, and developing streamlined processes for IP management and enforcement that provide clear oversight of global IP portfolios and greater predictability for legal expenses.

As chair of Thompson Coburn's IP group, Tom leads an experienced intellectual property team that focuses on strategic counseling, global IP portfolio management, licensing, enforcement, brand protection and dispute resolution for some of the world's best-known consumer products companies and service providers. Their priority for each client is to design and implement long-term strategies for securing and maintaining the maximum protection and value of intellectual property assets.

Tom has extensive experience in the preparation and prosecution of patent and trademark applications both domestically and internationally, covering a broad range of technical disciplines, including electric motor technology, industrial valve technology, sheet metal processing technology, vehicle drive systems, ballistic armor systems and business methods. Before attending law school, Tom studied mechanical engineering and worked with an environmental engineering consulting firm.

In his extensive work on international trademarks, Tom has prosecuted trademark applications in nearly 200 countries, and led work on trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings globally. Tom regularly negotiates and drafts license agreements, settlement agreements and other agreements relating to the domestic and international intellectual property rights of his clients.