Associate Michael W. Hicks’ areas of emphasis include domestic and international trademark searching and prosecution; policing and maintenance of client’s trademarks, and representation of client’s interests before the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark (USPTO) Trial and Appeal Board.
Hicks began his career at the USPTO in Washington, D.C. where he evaluated and prosecuted trademark applications to determine registrability of a trademark under the Federal Trademark Act as well as preparing and arguing cases before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
Before joining Ezra|Brutzkus|Gubner LLP, he served as in-house trademark counsel for Apple Computer. While at Apple, he worked closely with the marketing and advertising departments in the selection and clearance of trademarks and was responsible for the prosecution, maintenance and policing of the entire corporate trademark portfolio. Hicks also worked at the Los Angeles-based intellectual property law firm of Blakely, Sokoloff, Taylor and Zafman.
Practice Emphasis
- Trademark and Copyrights
- Domestic and International Search and Prosecution
- Policing and Maintenance
- Licensing and Trademarks
- Representation before the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
Qualifications/Memberships
- State Bars of California, Tennessee and Pennsylvania
Education
- University of Pittsburgh School of Law, J.D., 1987
- University of Tennessee, B.A., 1984