Practice Expertise

  • Biotechnology and Life Science
  • Intellectual Property Litigation
  • Patent Prosecution
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Areas of Practice

  • Biotechnology and Life Science
  • Intellectual Property Litigation
  • Patent Prosecution
  • Intellectual Property

Profile

Thomas T. Moga has over 30 years of experience in domestic and international intellectual property portfolio development and enforcement. He is an experienced patent prosecutor in the mechanical, chemical, biochemical, and pharmaceutical arts and has been qualified and has testified as an expert witness in patent disputes.

As an intellectual property portfolio developer, Mr. Moga’s experience includes the development of domestic and foreign patent portfolios, the acquisition of registrations for trademarks and copyrights, licensing, and policy development.

In the arena of intellectual property rights enforcement, Mr. Moga manages patent enforcement and anti-counterfeiting actions in Asia, including overseeing initial counterfeit product investigation, selecting and working with local investigators, selecting and working with local counsel, preparing administrative and judicial documents, and participating in raids.

A pioneer in protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights in China, Mr. Moga has represented foreign companies in that country since the 1980’s. He was a Fulbright Scholar in China where he taught patent law at Jilin University and acted as a foreign advisor to China’s patent office. Mr. Moga was a visiting foreign expert in law at Xiamen University, China, and worked as a foreign legal expert for a patent and trademark law office in Taipei.

Mr. Moga is past board member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Fulbright Association, and the Fulbright Academy.

In 2018, Tom was appointed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to serve on the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (ITAC 13). As the only representative on the committee for the U.S. automotive industry, Tom’s contributions include analyzing national trade positions and providing advice on a broad array of trade issues as they relate to IP for both The White House (by way of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative) and the Department of Commerce in pursuit of trade agreements that benefit U.S. businesses, workers and the economy. 

Teaching Engagements

  • Adjunct law school instructor. Courses taught include Patent Law, Intellectual Property in Asia, International Intellectual Property Treaties, and Biotechnology and Intellectual Property.

Selected Citations

  • White House Office of Trade & Manufacturing Policy Report: “How China’s Economic Aggression Threatens the Technologies and Intellectual Property of the United States and the World," 2018
  • 2015 Report to Congress of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, 2015
  • Written Comments to the Office of the United States Trade Representative in Response to Federal Register Notice Regarding 2014 Special 301 Review: Identification of Countries under Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974, Semiconductor Industry, 2014
  • Detailed Comments to 2019 Special 301 Report, National Association of Manufacturers
  • The World Trade Organization – Law, Practice, and Policy, Oxford University Press, Third Edition, 2015
  • Protection of Design Patents in China and Comparison with EU Law: How Foreign Companies can Protect their Design Patents in China, Alice Graneris, KoGuan Law School, China, 2019
  • The Role of Patents in China’s Industrial Innovation, Edited by Yahong Li, Cambridge University Press, 2017
  • “Collaborative Innovation and Economic Growth: A Comment on China’s Innovation Policies,” Cardozo Law Review, 2013
  • China’s Innovation Challenge: Overcoming the Middle-Income Trap, edited by Arie Y. Lewin et al., Cambridge University Press, 2016
  • Patents and Innovation in China and Hong Kong: Two Systems in One Country, edited by Yahong Li, Cambridge University Press, 2016
  • “China: Effects of Intellectual Property Infringement and Indigenous Innovation Policies on the US Economy,” IP Commission Report, Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property, U.S. International Trade Commission, 2011
  • “General Motors v. Chery: A Judicial Lesson for Foreign Operators in China,” Wake Forest Intellectual Property Law Journal, 2007 – 2009
  • Assessing the Economic Implications of Different Models for Implementing the Requirement to Protect Plant Varieties,” Queen Mary University of London Press, 2006
  • “Kellogg on China: Strategies for Success,” Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University Press, 2004
  • “Beyond Tiananmen: The Politics of US-China Relations, 1989 – 2000” (Robert Suettinger), Brookings Institution Press, 2003
  • Factum of the Interveners, The Commissioner of Patents vs. The President and Fellows of Harvard College et al., Supreme Court of Canada, Court File No. 28155, 2001

Press Mentions

  • “China Cracks Down on Online Patent Infringement,” Bloomberg BNA’s World Intellectual Property Report, June 10, 2014

  • “China’s Absorptive State – Research, Innovation and the Prospects for China-UK Collaboration,” NESTA, October 2013

  • “China Goes ‘Local’ on US Firms’ Units,” Investor’s Business Daily, July 2, 2012

  • “Case of Clean-Tech Theft Simmers in Washington Ahead of China Talks,” Environment & Energy Publishing, January 27, 2012

  • “House Takes Different Stance from Senate on Two Key Factors in Patent Reform,” Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, April 10, 2011

  • “Piracy Remains Rampant After China Joined WTO,” WSJ on-line, December 11, 2002

  • “Tougher Criminal Penalties, Greater Diligence Needed after WTO Entry, Warns US Delegation,” South China Morning Post, March 14, 2001

Bar Admissions

District of Columbia
Illinois (inactive)
Iowa (inactive)
Michigan

Education
B.S., Biochemistry, cum laude, Madonna University, 1994 J.D., St. Louis University School of Law, 1983 M.A., English Language & Literature, University of Michigan, 1980 B.A., English Language & Literature and Political Studies (China concentration) (double major), University of Michigan, 1978

Areas of Practice

  • Biotechnology and Life Science
  • Intellectual Property Litigation
  • Patent Prosecution
  • Intellectual Property

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