Thomas L. Gemmell

Tom Gemmell is an experienced intellectual property and business litigator. As a former fighter pilot and son of a supplier to the Big Three auto manufacturers, Tom has hands-on experience in the aerospace and automotive industries and, in the courtroom, brings a mission-oriented focus to the advantage of industry clients. Tom has jury and bench tried cases in federal and state courts nationwide and represents clients in, among others, the aerospace, automotive, health care and manufacturing industries. Among Tom’s victories on behalf of clients are:

• Jury verdict for leading health care provider in $780 million patent infringement lawsuit 
• Summary judgment for distributor of building products on $380 million false advertising claim
• Arbitration award for tracking technologies company on multi-million dollar claim for breach of patent licensing agreement 
• Arbitration award for global energy producer on theft of trade secrets claim 
• Dismissal for web-based photo-services provider in multi-patent infringement lawsuit brought in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas

Tom is also Lead of the firm’s Transportation and Logistics practice and Co-Lead of the firm’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Advanced Robotics practice and Aviation practice. In aviation and aerospace/defense, Tom represents commercial airlines, corporate flight departments and defense contractors in litigation and intellectual property matters.  Among his representative matters include:

• Represented airline in defective-design and breach of contract lawsuit against designer and developer of automated baggage system
• Represented airline in breach of contract lawsuit against developer of in-flight entertainment system for 777 aircraft
• Represented carriage, release and ejection systems developer relating to bid for supply contract to U.S. Navy
• Represented worldwide consumer products company in business jet crash investigation
• Represented developer of remotely-operated weapons system in patent infringement lawsuit

• Part 107 / FAA 333 Exemption 
• Program setup and integration
• Privacy and data security 
• Service agreements 
• Insurance 

• Jury verdict for leading healthcare provider on claim of inequitable conduct before U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in $780 million patent infringement lawsuit brought by competitor in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, relating to hemodialysis machines.
• Summary judgment for leading distributor of building products on $380 million claim for false advertising damages in lawsuit brought by competitor in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin.
• Arbitration award for leading tracking technologies company on multi-million dollar claim of breach of patent license agreement.
• Arbitration award for global energy producer on theft of trade secret count in lawsuit brought in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Oklahoma relating to seismic sequence attribute map (SSAM) technology.
• Dismissal of patent infringement claims brought against leading online photography services provider in lawsuit brought in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas by Non-Practicing Entity relating to photo-sharing technology.
• Full amount damages for building products manufacturer in settlement of patent infringement counterclaim against competitor in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin.
• Award in favor of tier-one automotive supplier in arbitration of ownership/inventorship of patents relating to airbag cover technology.
• Favorable settlement for leading provider of Microsoft Office integration software and service in patent infringement case brought in U.S. District Court, District of Oregon, related to computer toolbar customization technology.
• Favorable settlement for imaging products manufacturer in theft of trade secrets and unfair competition lawsuit brought by competitor in Illinois Circuit Court relating to CAT and MRI scanners.
• Represented power-tool manufacturer at jury trial in multi-million dollar design patent and trade dress infringement lawsuit brought in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, by competitor relating to miter saws and trade dress in the colors black and yellow.
• Represented Fortune 100 multinational automotive OEM at jury trial in product liability lawsuit brought in New York Supreme Court relating to alleged vehicle “sudden acceleration.”
• Represented tier-one automotive supplier of thermoplastic products in multi-patent infringement lawsuit brought by competitor in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, relating to airbag cover technologies.
• Represented defense contractors in mass tort class action lawsuit brought in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Washington by plaintiff class relating to release of iodine-131 from Cold War plutonium production facilities.
• Represented U.S. airline in multi-million dollar defective-design and breach of contract lawsuit brought in Denver District Court against designer of Denver International Airport’s automated baggage system.
• Represented North America’s largest intercity bus transportation provider in $200 million defective design and breach of contract lawsuit brought in Illinois Circuit Court.
• Represented leading manufacturer of plush animal toys in numerous trademark infringement lawsuits, resulting in court orders and settlements to enforce infringers’ withdrawal of infringing products from market.
• Represented web-based photography-services provider and specialty retailer of fashion footwear in qui tam actions brought in Illinois Circuit Court on behalf of the State of Illinois relating to Internet sales and use-tax, and shipping tax.