PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES

Thomas Richards is a partner at Singh, Singh & Trauben LLP. Thomas is an experienced trial attorney whose clients include Oscar^®, Emmy^® and Grammy^® award winners who focuses on complex commercial, intellectual property and defamation claims. Thomas has significant experience both prevailing on, and also defeating, anti-SLAPP motions. Thomas has successfully handled numerous arbitrations, including taking arbitrations through full hearings and final awards, and the confirmation of the same. Thomas also handles international commercial and intellectual property matters. On the motion picture side, Thomas has handled numerous disputes on behalf of financiers, producers, writers and creators of motion pictures, including in the area of idea submission “Desny” claims and the infringement of motion picture and television copyrights. Thomas won a lengthy appeal in a major idea submission case (that appellate decision can be found here). On the music side, Thomas has handled disputes involving artist and talent agreements, the collection of publishing and royalties, and copyright infringement claims. On the technology side, Thomas has handled copyright, trademark and trade secret claims for some of the World’s largest financial institutions and technology companies and obtained and opposed a number of TROs and injunctions on behalf of leading software corporations and financial institutions.

Thomas is also an experienced transactional attorney who advises producers of motion pictures and television series, as well as clients in fashion, fine art, photography and media. Thomas specializes in structuring the financing of independently financed motion pictures, serves as production counsel for motion pictures and provides services for the development and packaging of television series. Thomas also represents technology companies in connection with their intellectual property and licensing needs. Thomas has handled numerous Trademark filings and office actions in the United States Patent and Trademark Office as well as in the European Union, the U.K., Mexico, Canada, China, Japan, Singapore, Australia and other territories.

Thomas obtained his J.D. from Fordham University Law School in 2001 and lived and worked in New York City until 2017. He is admitted to practice in New York and California.

BAR ADMISSIONS

State

California & New York

Federal

Southern District of New York, Eastern District of New York, Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Central District of California, Eastern District of California and Northern District of California.

EDUCATION

2001

Fordham University School of Law, New York, NY., J.D.

Editor for the Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal.

1998

George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, B.A.

PUBLICATIONS

Thinking Thresholds, Intellectual Property Magazine (November 2016)

When First Place Is Still Not Good Enough -- Understanding The Exceptions to the First-Filed Rule, The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel (December 2013)

Building a Better Dispute Resolution Provision, The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, co-authored with Joshua Leader (May 2008)

The Future of Dilution After Victoria’s Secret, Promotion Marketing Association’s 2003 Law and Forms Guide (3rd Ed.), (with Barry Werbin).

Proving Secondary Meaning in a Post Wal-Mart Product Configuration World, IP Litigator, June/July 2001, co-authored with Barry Werbin, vol.7, no.6, p.1-7.

The Internet and Decisional Institutions: The Structural Advantages of Online Common Law Regulation, Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal, Spring 2000, Vol. X, no. 3.