Thomas W. Humphrey
- Partner
- Practice Group Leader, Electrical/Software
Email:
“Businesses need to understand how IP relates to their products, their customers, and their competitors, and use that understanding to optimize their use of IP. That’s why I’m here.”
Thomas W. Humphrey is a Partner with Wood, Herron & Evans and is involved in all phases of the firm's practice, with concentration on electronic, software and computer technologies.
Tom joined Wood, Herron & Evans in 1993. He has served as Chairman of the Cincinnati Bar Association's Computer and High Technology Law Committee. Admitted to the Ohio bar in 1993 and to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio in 1994, Tom is also registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tom received both a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 1989, and he was a member of Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu. He then graduated cum laude with a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard University.
Tom is an active member of the Cincinnati Bar Association and the Cincinnati Intellectual Property Law Association. He has lectured on patent, copyright and trade secret law at Xavier University's College of Business Administration, at Northern Kentucky University's Salmon P. Chase College of Law and at various legal education seminars. Tom was named as one of the Ohio Super Lawyers - 2006 Rising Stars by Law and Politics Media. He has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® since 2014. Tom is the Practice Group Leader for the Electrical/Software patent prosecution practice group within the firm. He resides in Glendale, Ohio with his wife Susan and their two children.
Areas Of Practice
- Electrical/Electronics
- Litigation/Dispute Resolution
- Software/Computer/Internet
Bar Admissions
- Ohio, 1993
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Ohio, 1994
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 1990
Education
- Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts
- J.D.
- Honors: cum laude
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering - 1989
- Honors: Teaching Assistant to Dr. Amar Bose’s course on Acoustics
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering
Representative Clients
- Sony Corporation of America- Prosecuted extensive portfolio of digital video patents
- Veeco Instruments Inc.- Litigated patent portfolio relating to atomic force microscopes
- Car-Part.com- Litigated copyright and trade secret issues for the industry’s leading recycled auto parts web site
- Fifth Third Bank- Litigated disputes over ownership of copyrighted software, patent infringement and negotiated various licensing agreements
- Covidien, Inc.- Prosecuted and participated in the litigation of numerous patent portfolios
Classes / Seminars
- Lecturer, Xavier University College of Business Administration
- Guest Lecturer, Xavier University Entrepreneurship Program
- Intellectual Property, Lecturer, Salmon P. Chase College of Law, N. Kentucky University
- Lecturer, The Circuit, IT trade association of Cincinnati
- C-Cap
- American Dreamers Radio Show, April 2013
- Queen City Angels Entrepreneurs Bootcamp, 2005 to Present
- Benefits, Risks & Considerations in Using Open Licensed Software, American Intellectual Property Law Association, 2002 to Present
- Discovery Issues Related to Electronic Mail, 1995 to Present
- Implications of, and Suggested Strategies for Dealing with, Key Patent Law Provisions of U.S. GATT Implementing Legislation, 1995 to Present
- Software Patents, Cinti. Bar Assoc. Computer Law Seminar, 1994 to Present
- Copyright for Non-literal Aspects of Functional Software, Harvard Law School, 1993 to Present
Honors And Awards
- The Best Lawyers in America®, 2014 - 2025
- Ohio Super Lawyers®, Intellectual Property, 2022 - 2024
- Best Lawyers® Patent Law "Lawyer of the Year" in Cincinnati, 2019
- Top 250 Executives, Attorneys, Accountants and Decision-Makers in Technology, Cincinnati, 2006 - Present
- Ohio Super Lawyers®, Ohio Rising Stars, Law and Politics Media, 2005 - 2006
Professional Associations And Memberships
- CincyIP
- Cincinnati Bar Association, Computer Law Committee, Past Chairman
- Xavier University College of Business Administration, Lecturer
- Salmon P. Chase College of Law, Northern Kentucky University, Lecturer, Intellectual Property
- The Circuit, IT trade association of Cincinnati, Lecturer
- CincyTech
- C-Cap
- Queen City Angels
Pro Bono Activities
- The Healing Center, Cincinnati
- Secretary/Treasurer, Interlake Sailing Class Association
- Queen City Angels
- CincyTech