Tom Burt

Tom Burt is a highly experienced in-house patent litigation attorney, currently serving as Corporate Vice President for Customer Security & Trust at Microsoft. He joined Microsoft in 1995 and previously led the company's Litigation Group from 1996 to 2007. His practice primarily focuses on defending operating companies in complex intellectual property disputes, particularly within software, operating systems, user interfaces, video decoding technology, and digital media technologies. More recently, his work has expanded to encompass cybersecurity policy, digital trust, and leveraging legal strategies to counter cyberattacks.

Throughout his career at Microsoft, Mr. Burt has been involved in significant patent cases. This includes the tracked case VirnetX Inc. v. Microsoft Corporation, where he represented Microsoft as in-house counsel on the defendant side. He also played a key role in the 2008 Alcatel-Lucent v. Microsoft patent litigation, where as Microsoft's corporate vice president and deputy general counsel, he commented on efforts to overturn adverse verdicts related to user interface and other software technologies. In 2005, he was instrumental in the settlement of Burst.com, Inc. v. Microsoft Corporation, which involved patent, trade secret, and antitrust claims, resulting in Microsoft licensing Burst's patent portfolio.

While his role as head of litigation and corporate vice president suggests oversight of intellectual property matters, direct evidence of his personal appearances or specific expertise in PTAB or IPR proceedings is not readily available from public sources.

Mr. Burt holds a Bachelor's degree in Human Biology from Stanford University and earned his law degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Washington Law School.