Thomas D. Wilhelm - Wisconsin Intellectual Property Attorney

Thomas D. Wilhelm's Areas of Practice

• Patents
• Copyrights
• Licensing
• Trademarks
• Trade Secrets
• Trade Dress
• Mediation
• Arbitration
• International Law
• Joint Ventures
• International Joint Ventures
• Employment Agreements
• Consulting Agreements

Thomas D. Wilhelm's Bar Admissions

• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 1978
• Wisconsin, 1994

Education

• University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
  J.D., Doctor of Jurisprudence
• University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota
  M.S.Ch.E., Master of Science in Chemical Engineering
• University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota
  B.S.Ch.E., Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Wisconsin Bar Association Member
• American Bar Association Member
• Wisconsin Patent Law Association Member
• Christian Legal Society Member
• Licensing Executives Society Member
• American Intellectual Property Law Association Member

Past Employment Positions

• American Can Company
• Dana Corporation
• Stanadyne Corporation
• Kraft Foods
• Western Electric
• US Army

After nine years of service at American Can Company, attorney Wilhelm's position at the company was eliminated in 1983 due to a corporate restructuring. Mr. Wilhelm, then a Patent Agent, opened his new business, and American Can Company became his first client.

While at American Can Company, Mr. Wilhelm was responsible for working with multiple business units in identifying the intellectual property rights related to all of the company’s flexible packaging business, and for securing the patents related to these technologies, both in the United States and in foreign countries, including the European Patent Office, Japan, and Canada among others. In the process, Mr. Wilhelm worked on projects related to a wide variety of films and laminates, including the products and processes and the machines and tubes used in those processes.

The products included single layer films, multiple layer films, including, laminates using film, paper and foil; coextrusions, extrusion coatings, and discharges. The polymers were typically food grade materials including olefins such as polyethylene, polypropolene, ethylene copolymers including ethylene vinyl acetate and ethylene vinyl alcohol, and ploy chloride copolymers. The processes included cast extrusion, blown film, water, tester frame and double-bubble stretching, shrink films and films.

The machines included the extruder, dyes, capture and control devices the stretch and devices, as well as machines performing and sealing flexible packages, including form-fill-and-seal, and thermal forming.

Since opening the business in 1983, Mr. Wilhelm has handled a wide variety of technology including paper, fiber and adhesives, batteries, a wide variety of machinery, and construction materials, automotive equipment, ultrasonics, agricultural machines, dairy industry, foundry machines, module devices, food and food making processes and machines.

In 1991, Mr. Wilhelm went back to school, and received his law degree from University of Wisconsin in 1993.

Mr. Wilhelm has made personal appearances before the US Patent Office, has made Oral Arguments for the European Patent Office, and has made appearances in the Federal Courts of Wisconsin.

Attorney has legal agents in over 70 countries, and has represented clients in Canada, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, and Argentina. Attorney handles meditations and arbitrations, even using mediation principles or principles based on Biblical/Christian teachings.

In his spare time Attorney Wilhelm conducted farming operations for many years, including both field crops and livestock operation. Attorney Wilhelm currently owns and manages a Wisconsin Timber operation.