J. Thomas McCarthy (born July 2, 1937 in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, Michigan) is a Professor Emeritus at the

University of San Francisco School of Law The University of San Francisco School of Law (USF Law) is the law school of the private University of San Francisco. Established in 1912, it received American Bar Association accreditation in 1935 and joined the Association of American Law Sc ...

and an internationally recognized authority in the field of trademarks.''2000–2018 President’s Award Winners''

International Trademark Association The International Trademark Association is a global association of brand owners and professionals dedicated to trademarks and complementary intellectual property to foster consumer trust, economic growth, and innovation, and committed to building ...

He is the founding director of the McCarthy Institute for Intellectual Property and Technology Law. He has practiced, written, and taught in the field of

trademarks A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

and unfair competition and is a frequent speaker on the subject. He is the author of the authoritative work on intellectual property law, ''McCarthy on Trademarks and Unfair Competition''. McCarthy is a member of the California and U.S. Supreme Court bars and is admitted to practice before the

United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexa ...

Education and personal life

He holds a degree in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

from the

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catholic universi ...

in 1960. He worked as an engineer for

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

Corporation Missile Division in the early days of the space program on the Redstone missile, a version of which was used to launch the

Explorer I Explorer 1 was the first satellite launched by the United States in 1958 and was part of the U.S. participation in the International Geophysical Year (IGY). The mission followed the first two satellites the previous year; the Soviet Union's S ...

satellite in January 1958. He earned his law degree from the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a Public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of C ...

in 1963. He is the son of John Edward McCarthy. He has been reported to be an avid watercolor painter.

Legal Career

For over twenty years until 2022, McCarthy was an of counsel consultant with the law firm of

Morrison & Foerster Morrison & Foerster LLP (also known as MoFo) is an American multinational law firm headquartered in San Francisco, California, with 17 offices located throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. The firm has over 1,000 lawyers who advise cli ...

in its San Francisco office. He was a member of the A.L.I. Advisory Committee involved in drafting the 1995

Restatement of the Law In American jurisprudence, the ''Restatements of the Law'' are a set of treatises on legal subjects that seek to inform judges and lawyers about general principles of common law. There are now four series of ''Restatements'', all published by the ...

Unfair Competition Unfair may refer to: * Double Taz and Double LeBron James in multiverses ''fair''; unfairness or injustice * ''Unfair'' (drama), Japanese television series * '' Unfair: The Movie'' * Unfair (song), a song by South Korean boy group EXO