Practice Areas
Business Transactions
Cybersquatting and Domain Name Disputes
E-Commerce and Internet-Related Transactions
Emerging Businesses
Intellectual Property
Intellectual Property Litigation
Media and Entertainment
Trademark Prosecution
Trade Secrets
Practice Emphasis
Tom Kulik is a Partner in Scheef & Stone, L.L.P. and a valuable member of the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group out of its headquarters in Dallas, Texas. With a unique understanding of how intellectual property assets influence business, he strategically counsels clients on matters involving the evaluation, acquisition, development and protection of intellectual property rights, with an emphasis on creatively leveraging such assets both domestically and internationally.
Prior to matriculation in law school, he was an award-winning systems engineer for 3Com Corporation, where he was responsible for local and wide-area network architecture and design supporting both Fortune 500 and start-up companies in the computer services, financial and pharmaceutical industries. After law school, he was appointed to a one-year state judicial clerkship in New Jersey, after which he began private practice splitting his time as a litigation attorney and transactional counsel. Before being recruited to Texas in 1998, he was fortunate enough to act as the primary intellectual property counsel to a consortium of state entities in NJ, NY, PA and DE for the implementation of a $500M electronic toll collection system known as “E-ZPass®”.
Leveraging this industry experience, his practice focuses on intellectual property transactions and counseling, particularly within the context of the computer software development, emerging Internet technologies and e-commerce. His practice also includes an extensive trademark preparation and prosecution practice, including both domestic and foreign trademark protection, Trademark Trial & Appeal Board oppositions, cancellations and appeals, as well as ICANN Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Proceedings for internet domain name dispute resolution. With his experience as a commercial litigator, he remains involved in complex intellectual property litigation involving copyrights, trademarks/unfair competition, patents and trade secrets. Having been exposed to theatrical and television production as a teenager, he is also an experienced media & entertainment lawyer. From counseling media companies on IP rights acquisition ad First Amendment issues to assisting developers and publishers in facilitating multimedia product-to-market, his legal experience bridges traditional entertainment and digital media (including animation, music synchronization and online music, videogame development/publishing/distribution and a multitude of e-commerce enterprises in the development and distribution of content).
He serves as a resource to the media on issues involving the intersection of cyberspace and intellectual property law, including cybersquatting and social media. He has written articles for a number of publications, including Dallas Bar Association “HEADNOTES” and Depth magazine. He has also been quoted on these issues in a number of local and national publications, including The Dallas Morning News, MSNBC Business and The New Jersey Law Journal.
You can also keep up with his musings on various intellectual property law topics via his blog at www.legalintangibles.com.
Publications & Presentations
“The Online Tug-of-War for Copyrighted Content”, Dallas Bar Association HEADNOTES, January 2009
“Stormy Weather: Forecasting the Legal Issues in Cloud Computing”, Dallas Bar Association HEADNOTES, November 2010
“Typosquatting” and Your Brand: Picking the Fruits of Another’s Domain”, Direct Selling Association Supplier Course Newsletter, July 30, 2010
“Don’t Get Robbed: Patent & Trademark Protection in a Digital World”, 2010 Direct Selling Association Legal Issues of the Day Seminar (Washington, D.C. – September 2010)
“Partly Sunny with a Chance of Rain: Forecasting the Legal Issues in Cloud Computing” Dallas Bar Association, Computer Law Section CLE, September 2010
Upcoming: “Harvesting the Fruits of Another’s Domain: Protecting Your Brand in a Social Media World”, Direct Selling Association Annual Meeting (Miami, FL – June 2011)
Bar Admissions
• Texas
• New Jersey
Court Admissions
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
• New Jersey District Court
Education
• J.D., Pace University School of Law School, 1993
• B.A., Franklin & Marshall College, 1987
Professional Involvement
• Member, Board of Directors, Earning by Learning of Dallas (a nationally recognized, research driven program, based on the use of incentives to encourage children to learn) – January 2011-present
• Member, Board of Directors, Big Thought (a learning partnership committed to inspiring, empowering and uniting children and communities through arts and culture) 2004-2010
• Past Member, Texas Pro Bono College
• Texas Bar Association
• Intellectual Property, Computer & Technology and Entertainment & Sports Law Sections
• Dallas Bar Association
• Treasurer, Computer Law Section, 2011
• Member, Intellectual Property Law, ComputerLaw and Sports and Entertainment Law Sections
Clerkships
• Mr. Kulik served under legislative appointment as a judicial law clerk in Superior Courts of New Jersey for Hon. James P. Courtney, Hon. James N. Citta and Hon. James D. Clyne (1993-1994).
