Thomas Hedemann focuses his practice on intellectual property and commercial litigation. His experience ranges across all aspects of litigation from pre-litigation counseling and strategy through fact and expert discovery, dispositive motions and trial. Thomas also has significant appellate experience before the Federal and Second Circuit Courts of Appeals.
In the area of intellectual property, he has represented clients in cases involving diverse technologies, specializing in pharmaceutical cases brought under the Hatch-Waxman Act. In the area of commercial litigation, he has represented clients on matters involving supply contracts, employment contracts, insurance claims and various business torts. Before joining Axinn, Thomas served as a law clerk to the Honorable Alfred V. Covello of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.
Thomas is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law where he teaches patent litigation. He is also active in the community and serves on the board of Capitol Squash, which seeks to provide underprivileged students with life-changing opportunities through the sport of squash, intensive educational support, mentoring and community service activities.
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Professional Activities
- Connecticut Bar Association
- American Bar Association, Section of Intellectual Property Law
Experience
- Obtained summary judgment of noninfringement on behalf of Alvogen in a Hatch-Waxman litigation involving a generic version of the Exelon dementia treatment patch.
- Obtained a dismissal of all claims against Nautilus, Inc. in a case involving allegations of indirect trademark and copyright infringement.
- Successfully briefed an appeal on behalf of pharmaceutical company Natco involving a generic version of Tamiflu®, obtaining a reversal of the trial court’s holding that a later-issued but earlier-expiring patent cannot serve as a double-patenting reference against an earlier-issued but later-expiring patent.
- Represented Fila against infringement allegations involving utility and design patents and, after fact discovery and inventor depositions, obtained an advantageous settlement.
- Obtained summary judgment that the asserted patent was invalid for obviousness, and successfully briefed the appeal affirming the summary judgment on behalf of Mutual Pharmaceutical Company.
- Obtained a favorable resolution for pharmaceutical company Actavis of a multibillion-dollar patent infringement claim by Pfizer relating to a generic version of Neurontin®. Thomas’s work on the case included designing and implementing a strategy using Pfizer’s admission of unlawful off-label promotion to dramatically reduce the potential damages, resulting in a key ruling on a motion in limine that he authored.
- Obtained dismissal of state court claims and, after fact discovery and inventor depositions, an advantageous settlement on behalf of Custom LeatherCraft in patent litigation involving tool carriers.
- Successfully briefed an appeal on behalf of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance, obtaining affirmance of the trial court’s summary judgment of the plaintiff’s breach of contract and related claims.
Honors
- Recognized in Am Law "Litigator of the Week" column for representation of Hobby Lobby
- Recognized by the New York State Bar Association’s Empire State Counsel Program for significant pro bono work
- U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut Pro Bono Honor Roll (2023)
- Best Lawyers, “Ones to Watch” (2024 – 2025)
News
- Axinn Attorneys Named to Best Lawyers 2025
- Eight Axinn Attorneys Named to the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut 2023 Pro Bono Honor Roll
- Axinn Team Receives Am Law "Litigator of the Week" Shout Out for Representation of Hobby Lobby
- Commission Affirms Axinn’s ITC Victory for Hobby Lobby
- Axinn Attorneys Named to Best Lawyers 2024
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Thought Leadership
- Intellectual Property and Antitrust, Lexology In-Depth, June 20, 2024
- Supreme Court Confirms Full Scope Enablement Standard in Amgen v. Sanofi, Reuters Westlaw Today, May 31, 2023
- Axinn IP Update: The Supreme Court Hears Arguments About the Enablement Standard in Amgen v. Sanofi, March 28, 2023
- Practitioners Mostly Agree Amgen Won’t Be a Sea Change, But Some Predict Grim Consequences, IPWatchdog, March 28, 2023
- Frandly Fire, Intellectual Property Magazine, December 2020 / January 2021 Issue
- Ginsburg Remembered As Steadfast Pro-Copyright Voice, Law360, September 21, 2020
- A Close Look at European Union's AI Regulation Proposal, Law360, April 22, 2020
- Covid-19 Spotlights Ruling’s Chilling Effect on Diagnostic Tests, Bloomberg Law, March 23, 2020
- Axinn IP Update: SCOTUS Passes on Refining Subject Matter Eligibility Doctrine, Axinn Update, January 13, 2020
- Axinn IP Update: No “Single-Entity” Requirement for Section 271(g) Liability, Axinn Update, December 30, 2019
- Protecting Intellectual Property in the Era of Intelligent Machines, Connecticut Bar Association, Fall 2019
- Fed. Circ. Muddies Waters on Method-Of-Treatment Patents, Law360, September 4, 2019
- Patent Reform Draft Would Ease Problem of Subject Matter Eligibility, BioWorld MedTech, April 23, 2019
- Federal Circuit Says It Is Not Bound by PTO in Diagnostic Patent Case, BioWorld MedTech, April 9, 2019
- Fed. Circ. Ruling Shows Limits of USPTO Eligibility Guidance, Law360, April 3, 2019
- Axinn IP Update: Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Axinn Update, March 18, 2019
- 3 Takeaways From the Latest Ax of a Diagnostic Patent, Law360, February 12, 2019
- CAFC Hands Mayo Another Win; Newman Cites "Inconsistencies", BioWorld MedTech, February 8, 2019
- Method-of-Treatment Patent Eligibility: Step 1 and Done?, Law360, February 5, 2019
- Fed. Circ. Reins In Reach Of Double-Patenting Doctrine, Law360, December 14, 2018
- Older Patents Get Help As Federal Circuit Sides With Novartis In Gilenya, Everolimus Disputes, Pink Sheet, December 10, 2018
- Tempest in a Teapot: Gilead v. Natco Is No Sea Change in the Doctrine of Obviousness-Type Double Patenting, Spring 2015
- Rule Against Double Patenting Regains Lost Luster, The National Law Journal, September 8, 2014
- BIO, PhRMA Ask Fed. Circ. to Revisit Double-Patent Ruling, Law360, July 14, 2014
- Brand's Off-Label Promotion: Valuable Tool for Generics, Law360, December 31, 2011
- Raising the Bar of Patentability, Connecticut Law Tribune, April 21, 2008
- What is Patentable?, IP Law and Business, October 2007
- The Political Import of Intrinsic Objections to Genetically Engineered Food, Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, January 2005
- Health Inequalities and Why They Matter, Health Care Analysis 10, 2002
Events
Education
- JD – Yale Law School (2005) Articles and Submissions Editor, Yale Journal of Health, Law, Policy, and Ethics (2002–2004)
- MA – University of Wisconsin (2001)
- BA – University of Oslo, Norway (1997)
Admissions
- Connecticut
- U.S. District Court of Connecticut
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- U.S. District Court Southern District of New York