Thomas Burke is counsel to Ropes & Gray's Intellectual Property Group. He joined the firm in 1995 and has handled intellectual property matters in a wide variety of technical disciplines including automotive engineering, cable television, electronics, financial systems, Internet and retail commerce, medical devices, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.
Concentrating on the transactional aspects of intellectual property portfolio evaluation, management and protection, Mr. Burke has negotiated, drafted and performed the due diligence associated with the intellectual property aspects of numerous mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic investments, asset purchase agreements and licenses of patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. He also has substantial experience advising on agreements and resolving disputes in the areas of information technology and data privacy and security.
Mr. Burke advises companies in licensing and enforcement campaigns. He has litigated patent infringement actions and the intellectual property aspects of business and bankruptcy reorganizations. His practice also includes pre-suit consultations and legal opinions regarding patent infringement, validity and freedom-to-operate product clearances.
Prior to obtaining his law and business degrees, Mr. Burke was a software developer for four years at Morgan Stanley where he developed securities trading and cash processing systems.
Experience
- Represented Affiliated Computer Services in its $8 billion acquisition by Xerox Corporation.
- Represented Bain Capital and The Blackstone Group in connection with their acquisition, together with NBC Universal, of The Weather Channel Companies, including The Weather Channel television network and Weather.Com.
- Represented Bain Capital Ventures in its acquisition of MDS Pharma Services, a division of MDS Inc and provider of drug discovery and development solutions for pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
- Represented Berkshire Partners, Bain Capital and Advent International in their $1.1 billion acquisition of SkillSoft, a software as a service provider of on-demand e-learning and performance support solutions.
- Represented Blackstone Capital Partners in its $3 billion acquisition of Emdeon, Inc., a health care services provider.
- Represented Security First Corp. in numerous licensing transactions with IBM, Unisys and other technology companies.
- Represented Silicon Graphics, Inc. in its acquisition by Rackable Systems, Inc.
- Represented Silver Lake and TPG in their $8.0 billion acquisition of Avaya.
- Represented State Street Bank in its sale of CitiStreet, a provider of retirement benefits services.
- Represented Thomas H. Lee Partners in its $1.1 billion acquisition of inVentiv, Inc., a pharmaceutical service provider.
- Represented Thomas H. Lee Partners in its $3.6 billion acquisition of West Corporation, a customer relationship management solutions provider.
- Represented The TJX Companies, Inc. in the sale of its Bob’s Stores division.
- Represented TPG Capital in its $850 million acquisition of the property information business of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA).
- Represented TPG Growth in its acquisition of Hilex Poly Co., a manufacturer of plastic bags and film products.
- Represented Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe in its acquisition of Smile Brands Group, a provider of support services to dental groups.
- Represented Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe in its $2.16 billion sale of US Oncology, Inc. to McKesson Corp.