Mike manages trademark portfolios of varying sizes, including very large portfolios consisting of thousands of U.S. and foreign trademark records. He has filed and prosecuted thousands of U.S. trademark applications and managed the filing, prosecution and maintenance of countless more foreign applications and registrations in over 200 jurisdictions worldwide. In addition, Mike has conducted thousands of availability searches and has substantial experience in managing and conducting worldwide naming projects and intellectual property due diligence. He has counseled and consulted with clients in the areas of trademark protection, enforcement, international brand strategy, brand expansion and licensing to maximize the value of their trademark portfolios. His expertise also includes managing, administering and conducting worldwide projects involving updating ownership records of large intellectual property portfolios.
Mike is a frequent lecturer on many topics of trademark law and has been a long-standing and active member of the International Trademark Association. He has also served on the Editorial Board of the Trademark Reporter published by the Trademark Association.
Mike has received numerous recognitions and awards in the trademark field, including the Top U.S. Trademark Filer award for several years. He is rated as “AV Preeminent,” has consistently held the “Super Lawyers” rating and is listed in Best Lawyers in America. He believes in nurturing and promoting a collaborative culture within his firm, which benefits both employees and clients.
Mike was born in Fairbanks, Alaska, on a U.S. Air Force base where his father was stationed as an Air Force Physician, holding the rank of Captain. Although Mike does not remember, his father reminds him that as a toddler he enjoyed wearing his father’s Air Force dress hat. Mike’s dad, an Ophthalmologist, also tells the story of when he performed cataract surgery on a local Alaskan trapper who was so grateful that the trapper gave him a bear skin (with head intact), which Mike’s dad (to his mother’s dismay) still cherishes today.
