Principal Tom Obermark has been with the Schwegman firm for more than twenty years. A registered patent attorney practicing in the mechanical, electromechanical, and biomedical technologies, he enjoys his work because, as he explains, “It helps clients and inventors who come up with great ideas to realize the value of their creations.”
Tom’s areas of technical experience include: mechanical; medical devices; electromechanical; fluid mechanics and heat transfer; micron and nanoscale mechanical testing; automated controls; autonomous control, including semi and fully autonomous driving and implement control and artificial intelligence and machine learning applications for controls; agricultural vehicles and implements; defense industry; building and construction products, including windows, doors, smart/autonomous home systems, building wraps, polymers and associated chemistry, and siding; and aerospace.
Tom’s extensive patent practice involves application and portfolio strategy and analysis of existing and emerging technologies; application drafting and prosecution; post-issuance work including freedom to operate (FTO) and enforcement studies such as infringement, non-infringement and invalidity analysis, litigation support, and managing and initiating foreign oppositions; patent portfolio analysis for technology and business acquisitions; and international and foreign application management, strategy and advising.
In undergraduate school, Tom earned a B.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Missouri – Columbia. His studies took an interesting and useful twist, as he also took premedical coursework because he was considering medical school. It worked out well because much of his work now is in medical devices.
Tom’s interests took him to law school, because as he describes, “Getting to the heart of difficult problems, and then working of those problems toward a solution, is fun. I wanted to become a patent lawyer because technology and continuing to learn are priorities for me, and I found both in patent law, along with the challenge of argument and writing.” Now, as a patent lawyer, Tom has a talent for understanding difficult concepts legally and technically and explaining them effectively. And his favorite part of the job? “Being creative and feeling challenged. Every aspect of the job, whether it’s applications, opinions, prosecution, due diligence, is never the same. Each application is different; analysis of an IP portfolio varies based on the IP; and every Examiner, Appeal Board or opposing counsel is a different challenge. Every facet of the job is different each time you work with it. As patent attorneys, we get to learn in multiple fields of technology, and then creatively pursue protection of those technologies in a unique fashion every time.”
Outside of work, Tom enjoys everything from lap swimming, scuba diving, snorkeling, downhill skiing, and trap shooting to playing guitar, spending time with his family and traveling in and out of the US.
