Biography • Patents

Thomas D Rein is a global co-chair of Sidley's intellectual property practice and is the head of Sidley's Chicago IP group. He has also served as a member of IP 360's editorial advisory board.

Mr Rein is a proven trial lawyer, having first chaired four significant victories in the last four years before federal juries in patent cases. In June 2012 he represented National Pasteurized Eggs at trial against its only US competitor, Michael Foods. The jury invalidated the three patents asserted by Michael Foods and found that all three of National's patents were valid and infringed, awarding lost profits and price erosion damages. In December 2010, Mr Rein represented plaintiff SynQor at trial against eleven competitors. The jury found for SynQor on each of the five asserted patents and awarded $95 million in lost profits and price erosion damages - a decision that has now been affirmed on appeal. Earlier in that same year, Mr Rein successfully represented defendants Aircell (now Gogo) and Delta Airlines; the jury found no infringement and that the patent claims were invalid on each of the four grounds urged by defendants. Prior to that, he represented Ethicon Endo-Surgery (EES) in a dispute over the ownership of patent applications. The jury found for EES on each of the grounds urged and awarded damages; the court then upheld the damage award and reassigned the patent applications to EES.

Mr Rein received his JD (cum laude) from Harvard Law School in 1983 and his BA (summa cum laude, with high honours) from Colgate University in 1980. He is admitted in Illinois.