Member

Thomas J. Mihill (TJ)

TJ Mihill is a Member in the firm's Atlanta office where his practice focuses on intellectual property, business law and litigation, construction, fiduciary law, and estate and probate matters. TJ is experienced in arbitration, mediation and negotiation as well as traditional litigation. As a licensed neutral, he has mediated over 150 cases. He is a member of the firm's Intellectual Property & Technology Service Group.

TJ represents individuals and corporations in the registration of copyrights and trademarks, as well as handling trademark and copyright infringement claims, trade secret violations, and cybersquatting actions. He is particularly active in internet and video game law. In addition to representing video game designers and game design companies, TJ has litigated infringement actions in state and federal courts on behalf of authors, artists, and musicians. He also represents clients in licensing and royalty disputes.

TJ represents clients in litigation, mediation, and arbitration at the state and federal level, both throughout Georgia and nationwide. His practice covers a wide variety of business litigation issues, including actions to enforce or defend against restrictive covenants, professional liability, shareholder disputes, and various breach of contract, tort, and fraud actions. TJ also practices in the area of real property law with experience in premises liability actions, easement issues, and commercial and residential landlord/tenant disputes.

Additionally, TJ represents contractors, subcontractors, and property owners in construction disputes, including actions relating to mechanic's and materialmen's liens. He has handled numerous defective construction claims from initial compliance with the Georgia Right to Repair Act through arbitration or trial.

Recent News, Articles & Speaking Engagements

USPTO to Do a Deep Dive on Deepfakes

AI & Copyright (Intellectual Property Breakout)

Speaker, 2024 DRI Business and Intellectual Property Litigation Super Conference, Philadelphia, PA, March 20-22, 2024

Georgia's Right to Repair Act and What it Means to Your Clients

co-speaker, Construction Law for the General Practitioner, State Bar of Georgia, January 26, 2024

Copyright, trademark, and licensing for artists

Speaker, Alpha Arts Guild, Alpharetta, GA, September 11, 2023

What Does Title IX Say About Trans Students in Sports?

co-speaker, Dragon Con, Atlanta, September 3, 2023

Copyright and AI

Moderator, Dragon Con, Atlanta, September 2, 2023

SMART Act: Mandated Copyright Filters

Dragon Con, September 4, 2022

Importance of Digital Ownership in the Metaverse

Dragon Con, September 3, 2022

Social Media, Censorship, and the First Amendment

Dragon Con, September 3, 2022

Virtual/Streaming Programming as a Means of Marketing

Dragon Con, September 1, 2022

When Can a Trademark Owner Take Action for Unauthorized Use of its Trademark Online?

myLawCLE.com, July 29, 2022

NCAA v. Alston: How the Recent Supreme Court Ruling has Transformed College Sports

co-speaker, 2022 DRI Business Litigation and Intellectual Property Litigation Super Conference, Houston, TX, March 22, 2022

Stites & Harbison Adds 19 To Atlanta Team From 2 Firms

From Counter-Culture to Copyright: Tattoos and IP Law

ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Committee Newsletter, Winter 2018

Net Neutrality

Electronic Frontiers Georgia, 2017

Skin Deep: Copyright Issues in a Tattoo Culture

State Bar of Georgia IP Section, 2017

Lawsuit against Techdirt

Dragon Con EFF Track, 2017

Journalism & Freedom of the Press in the Trump Era

Dragon Con EFF Track, 2017

Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands

Dragon Con EFF Track, 2017

Legal, Litigation & Security Issues of Self-Driving Cars

Dragon Con EFF Track, 2017

FBI v. Apple vs. Grey Hats and the Future of Encryption

Dragon Con EFF Track, 2016

Revenge Porn and Reputation Destroying Sites

Dragon Con EFF, 2016

CISA Cybersecurity Provisions in the 2016 Omnibus Budget Bill

Dragon Con EFF Track, 2016

Employee and Officer Exposure to Construction Claims

Construction Law for the General Practitioner, 2015

Network Neutrality, the FCC, and Title II

Dragon Con EFF Track 2015

Legal and Practical Business Issues for Mobile Game Developers

Dragon Con EFF Track, 2015

Digital Millennium Copyright Act - Hacking Automobiles and Other Vehicles

Dragon Con EFF Track, 2015

Legal Issues for eBook Authors and Publishers

Dragon Con EFF Track, 2015

Employee and Officer Exposure to Construction Claims

Construction Law for the General Practitioner, 2009

Revenge Porn and Reputation Destroying Sites: An Update

Dragon Con EFF Track, 2014

Trademark Law Update

Dragon Con EFF Track, 2014

Documentary: Terms and Conditions May Apply

Dragon Con EFF Track, 2014

Aereo Supreme Court Case

Dragon Con EFF Track, 2014

Trademarks Without Borders: The Struggle to Establish Geographical Rights for Common Law Trademarks Used Online

Landslide Magazine, 2014

Trade Secrets

Computer Games and Virtual Worlds, 2010

Employee and Officer Exposure to Construction Claims

Construction Law for the General Practitioner, 2009

Employee and Officer Exposure to Construction Claims

Construction Law for the General Practitioner, 2015

Bar Admissions
Georgia
Georgia Court of Appeals
Supreme Court of Georgia
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
Memberships
State Bar of Georgia, Member
American Bar Association, Member
Atlanta Bar Association, Member
Georgia Game Developers Association, Member
DRI, Member, Trademark SLG Chair
Community Involvement

Georgia Game Developers Association, Secretary, Board of Directors

Boy Scouts of America, Committee Chair for Troop 2319; District Committee Chair for the Foothills District

Georgia Entertainment Gala, Host Committee (2012-17)

The Commerce Club

Education
More Than Stites & Harbison

Prior to joining Stites & Harbison, TJ was with a small litigation and corporate firm based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Accolades

Georgia Super Lawyers® Rising Star (2009-14)

Avvo, 10.0 rating

Am Top100 High Stakes Litigators Milhill
Milhill Super Law Rising Star
See more related to Thomas J. Mihill (TJ)
Client Alerts

USPTO to Do a Deep Dive on Deepfakes

The United States Patent and Trademark office (“USPTO”) has stated that it will be holding a roundtable on August 5, 2024, to address whether current laws are sufficient to protect individuals from the unauthorized reproductions of their voice, image, or likeness commonly referred to as “deepfakes.” Attorney TJ Mihill takes a look at the what the USPTO is looking for in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.

by Thomas J. Mihill (TJ) July 30, 2024
Client Alerts

Is That Tattoo Infringing? The Complicated Copyright Questions Surrounding Tattoos

Tattoos have been at the core of several copyright cases over the last few years. One of the earliest well-known examples was a suit by Mike Tyson’s tattoo artist over the use of Tyson’s face tattoo design in the movie The Hangover Part II, which settled out of court in 2011. However, several more recently undecided cases have raised issues tied to tattoos and copyright infringement. TJ Mihill takes a look at this issue in the latest Stites & Harbison Client Alert.

by Thomas J. Mihill (TJ) February 15, 2024
Events

Construction Law for the General Practitioner

Date: 1/26/24
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

State Bar of Georgia, 104 Marietta Street NW, 3rd Floor, Atlanta, Georgia 30303

Atlanta attorney TJ Mihill will be a speaker at this State Bar of Georgia seminar on January 26, 2024.

Thomas J. Mihill (TJ) January 02, 2024
Client Alerts

IP vs. PR: Lessons From the Dungeons and Dragons Open Game License Controversy

Wizards of the Coast, LLC (“WOTC” or “Wizards”) and its parent company Hasbro, Inc. (“Hasbro”) recently found themselves facing unexpected backlash from their attempt to modify an existing license agreement which they had in place with content creators, the Open Game License (OGL), which allowed those creators to use game mechanics and other elements from the Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) table-top role playing game. IP attorney TJ Mihill takes a look at what's going on.

by Thomas J. Mihill (TJ) March 23, 2023
Client Alerts

The Twelve Days of I.P. Christmas

As we come to the end of the year, the members of the Intellectual Property and Technology group at Stites & Harbison took time to reflect upon some of the amazing things that have occurred in the world of Intellectual Property. In a light-hearted review of some of our favorite finds from 2022, please enjoy our own take on the classic carol, "The Twelve Days of Christmas."

by Joel T. Beres , Jeffrey A. Haeberlin , James Hayne , Thomas J. Mihill (TJ), B. Aaron Schulman , Gary N. Stewart (Nick), and Patrick M. Torre December 14, 2022
Events

Dragon Con

Date: 9/1/22 - 9/5/22

Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Hilton Atlanta, Sheraton Atlanta Hotel, and the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, Atlanta, GA

Atlanta office attorney TJ Mihill will be a speaker at this year's Dragon Con being held September 1-5 in Atlanta.

Thomas J. Mihill (TJ) August 22, 2022
Events

When Can a Trademark Owner Take Action for Unauthorized Use of its Trademark Online?

Date: 7/29/22
Time: EST: 12:00 - 2:10 PM / CST: 11:00 - 1:10 PM / MST: 10:00 - 12:10 PM / PST: 09:00 - 11:10 AM

IP attorneys TJ Mihill and Julie Comer will speak at this myLawCLE webinar on July 29, 2022.

Thomas J. Mihill (TJ) and Julie Comer Cahill July 19, 2022
Events

2022 Business Litigation and Intellectual Property Litigation Super Conference

Date: 3/21/22 - 3/23/22

Hyatt Regency Houston, 1200 Louisiana Street, Houston, Texas 77002

Atlanta office attorney T.J. Mihill will be a speaker at this conference being held in Houston, Texas, March 21-23, 2022.

Thomas J. Mihill (TJ) March 15, 2022