- OVERVIEW
- EXPERIENCE
- INSIGHTS
- NEWS & EVENTS
INDUSTRIES
PRACTICES
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Education
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DePaul University College of Law,
J.D., Dean's Scholar, 1993
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Northwestern University,
B.S.E.E., 1986
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Admissions
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Illinois
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Illinois USDC, Northern District
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Michigan USDC, Eastern District
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Texas USDC, Eastern District
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Wisconsin USDC, Eastern District
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US Ct Appeals, 7th Circuit (Covers IL, IN, WI)
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US Ct Appeals, 9th Circuit (AZ, CA, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, WA, Guam, M. Isles)
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US Ct Appeals, Federal Circuit
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US Patent and Trademark Office
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Recognitions
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Listed in "The Best Lawyers in America", 2016-2023
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Listed in "Illinois Super Lawyers" (by Thomson Reuters), 2013-2024
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Employment
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Thompson Coburn LLP
Partner, 2009-Present
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Kirkland & Ellis LLP
January 2006 - September 2009
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Tribune Company
Senior Counsel, Intellectual Property/Interactive
October 2000 - January 2006
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Kirkland & Ellis LLP
September 1993 - October 2000
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Community
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President's Council, Museum of Science & Industry
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Board Member, Equip for Equality, Inc.
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Michael counsels clients on patent and trademark issues and represents them in federal courts across the United States.
He has significant experience litigating patents in a wide variety of technical disciplines, and has successfully handled matters related to the litigation of complex electrical engineering and software based technologies such as mobile computing, cellular communications, global positioning, and interactive television applications.
He has litigated patents in numerous federal courts, including the Eastern District of Texas, District of Delaware and Northern District of Illinois.
Michael also has significant experience with patent reexaminations and with counseling clients on proposed technologies. On the trademark side, Michael's experience includes trademark clearance, as well as representing clients in trademark litigation and in adversarial proceedings within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Michael also has significant copyright and right of publicity experience, both on the litigation and counseling side. Michael is Technology Committee Chair of the Firm's AI Task Force.
TCLEs
Intellectual Property 101 in Higher Ed: Trademarks, Patents, and Online Protection
Blogs
Judge Rules AI-Generated Art Is Not Copyrightable
Thompson Coburn Publications
Intellectual property and other legal priorities during COVID-19
Participate in standard-setting bodies? The enforceability of your patents could be affected
Publications
Quoted, "IPO-bound Reddit discloses patent infringement complaint from Nokia,"
Reuters, March 19, 2024
Presentations
"Litigation Amid a Cloud of Crisis: Aligning Legal Strategy with Reputation Management";
Association of Corporate Counsel Chicago, December 2015
ACC STL CLE: IP Issues with GenAI - Ownership and Enforcement
Association of Corporate Counsel, July 2024
News
Implications for Digital Lending and Copyright in Landmark Fair Use Case
Michael Parks Speaks to Bloomberg Law on News Outlets and AI
Thompson Coburn Shuts Down Fraudulent Website for Marymount California University
Michael Parks Speaks to Reuters on IPO-Bound Reddit’s Patent Dispute
Michael Parks Speaks on Key AI Trends for 2024
Summary judgment win for Canadian Standards Association
Thompson Coburn again named best copyright firm in the nation
New Thompson Coburn blog In Focus covers photo copyright cases