Robert H. Thornburg
Shareholder · Registered Patent Attorney
Miami Trademark Attorney
Robert H. Thornburg is a Miami trademark attorney and shareholder at Allen Dyer Doppelt + Gilchrist, P.A., where he counsels startups, established companies and international brand owners on every stage of a brand’s life: clearance, registration, portfolio expansion, enforcement and defense. A registered patent attorney with a chemical engineering degree and more than two decades of intellectual property practice, he combines the technical fluency of a patent practitioner with the courtroom experience of a seasoned Lanham Act litigator.
His practice is built for three groups of clients: Florida businesses protecting their brands at home and across the country, Latin American companies entering the U.S. market, and European brand owners extending their rights across the Atlantic. He has a particular focus on emerging technologies, medical and healthcare companies, travel, hospitality and resort brands, health products and dietary supplements, and clean energy.
Robert H. Thornburg at a glance
Shareholder, Allen Dyer Doppelt + Gilchrist — Miami and Coral Gables
Practice Overview
Industry focus
Robert’s practice tracks the industries that shape Florida’s economy and the brands Florida consumers see every day:
| Industry | Typical brand issues |
|---|---|
| Hospitality, travel and resorts | Hotel, cruise, nightlife and venue brands; licensing and franchising; domain names and OTA misuse |
| Restaurants, food and beverage | Restaurant concepts, spirits, beverages and packaged foods; trade dress and packaging |
| Healthcare, medical and senior care | Practice, clinic and device brands; regulatory-sensitive naming; logo disputes |
| Health products and dietary supplements | Counterfeit supplements on Amazon and other marketplaces; false advertising |
| Beauty, cosmetics and personal care | Product line names, packaging trade dress, gray-market and diverted goods |
| Fashion, luxury and jewelry | Counterfeit enforcement, Schedule A actions, social commerce |
| Real estate, development and construction | Development and community names, brokerage brands, contractor and home-services marks |
| Marine, yachting and boating | Boat, yacht, charter and marine-products brands |
| Sports, entertainment and media | Team, event, artist and athlete brands; NIL licensing; copyright overlap |
| Fintech, crypto and emerging technology | Software, platform and AI brands; trade secrets; cross-border disputes |
| Consumer products and e-commerce | Amazon Brand Registry, marketplace takedowns, private label |
| Clean energy and sustainability | Solar and energy-technology brands; green claims and false advertising |
| Agriculture and Florida produce | Grower, citrus and food brands; certification and geographic terms |
Clearance and freedom to operate
Robert offers a full range of trademark clearance services, from initial knock-out searches and preliminary online clearance through the USPTO’s records to comprehensive trademark searches with written opinions. He prepares trademark freedom-to-operate analyses, including for cross-border product launches into and out of the United States.
Registration in the U.S., Florida and abroad
He has assisted in filing more than 1,000 trademark applications before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and prepares and files applications in the Florida State Trademark Registration System. He routinely files international applications through WIPO under the Madrid Protocol, with particular focus on brand protection in Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Brazil, and has extensive experience securing protection in Venezuela (SAPI), Ecuador (SENADI), Argentina (INPI), Panama (DIGERPI) and Canada (CIPO).
Fast-track enforcement
Not every infringement needs a lawsuit. Robert guides domestic, Latin American and European clients through faster enforcement routes, including domain name arbitrations under ICANN’s UDRP before WIPO and the Forum, Amazon Brand Registry complaints, and DMCA takedown proceedings.
Litigation and Defense
When litigation is required, Robert has handled more than 150 trademark, trade dress, false advertising, false designation of origin and related Lanham Act proceedings — in the Southern, Middle and Northern Districts of Florida and in federal courts in New York, Connecticut, California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas and Illinois. He is nationally recognized for counterfeiting enforcement, Schedule A litigation and defense, and complex international trademark disputes, and he regularly pairs Lanham Act claims with Florida statutory and common-law claims, including FDUTPA and Florida unfair competition.
Beyond trademarks
As a registered patent attorney with a chemical engineering background, Robert also litigates patent, copyright, trade secret and technology disputes, and counsels clients on IP transactions, licensing, due diligence and name, image and likeness (NIL) matters.
Florida Trademark and Dilution Practice
Florida registration. Robert prepares, prosecutes and renews Florida state trademark registrations under Chapter 495, using them strategically alongside federal filings: as fast bridge protection while a USPTO application is pending, as the primary registration for Florida-only businesses, and as added enforcement leverage for federally registered brands.
Florida enforcement. He enforces Florida registrations and common-law rights under Chapter 495, which allows recovery of the infringer’s profits, enhanced damages and attorney’s fees. He pairs these claims with FDUTPA and Florida unfair competition counts in federal Lanham Act cases, and he pursues cancellation of improperly obtained Florida registrations.
Dilution claims. Robert advances and defends dilution claims under both the federal statute (15 U.S.C. § 1125(c)), which requires nationwide fame, and Florida’s anti-dilution statute (§ 495.151), which protects marks famous within Florida. For accused parties, he focuses on the fame element, third-party use and the statutory exclusions, including through declaratory judgment actions such as Martin Memorial Health Systems v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (S.D. Fla.). His published scholarship on trademark survey evidence informs how he proves, and challenges, fame and consumer perception.
Representative Matters
Trademark, counterfeiting and unfair competition
- General Tools & Instruments Co. v. Hinh (S.D. Fla. 2025) — Obtained a preliminary injunction against a counterfeiter following an evidence seizure.
- BFL Metal Products Ltd. Co. d/b/a Fume v. Eyal Nahum Group (S.D. Fla. 2025) — Established personal jurisdiction over a Chinese counterfeiter; motion to dismiss denied.
- BFL Metal Products v. RDFN FUM Natural Products (S.D. Fla. 2025) — Defeated the accused infringer’s motion to add defenses in a trademark infringement action, which then resolved in a settlement of more than $2 million for the brand owner.
- Amiel v. QR JOY Inc. (S.D. Fla. 2025) — Secured dismissal of FDUTPA and unjust enrichment claims in a false advertising class action.
- Modulus Global Inc. v. Quintzy FZE LLC (D. Ariz. 2024–2025) — Won judgment for trade secret theft and trademark infringement with $600,000 in damages, followed by a $137,169 attorney’s fee award.
- Dongguan Saienchuangke Technology Co. v. Schedule A Defendants (S.D. Fla. 2024) — Schedule A defense: design patent claims against the defendants dismissed for improper joinder.
- GR Opco, LLC d/b/a E11EVEN v. Eleven IP Holdings, LLC (S.D. Fla. 2023) — Defeated a motion to dismiss for a Miami nightclub and hotel venture.
- Jet Miami LLC v. Miami Jet Inc. (S.D. Fla. 2019) — Report and recommendation granting the accused infringer summary judgment on trademark invalidity.
- Designs for Health, Inc. v. Tops Medical Corp. (M.D. Fla. 2019) and v. Fruitful Longevity (S.D. Fla. 2018) — Consent final injunctions and settlements of $225,000 and $220,000 against sellers of infringing dietary supplements.
- Sesderma, S.L. v. Mediderm Laboratories (S.D. Fla. 2018) — Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal of a trademark claim.
- Bose Corp. v. 558 Eagle Lake (M.D. Fla. 2017) — Counterfeit investigation resulting in a consent judgment and default statutory damages.
- Grupo Interworks v. Interworks Groups and Services (D. Nev. 2017) and FlexFunds ETP LLC v. Meeder Investment Management (S.D. Fla. 2017) — Ownership disputes resolved with transfer of marks, registrations and domain names to the client.
- Laser Pegs Ventures v. Hampton Direct (M.D. Fla. 2015) — Judgment that the client’s trademark was valid, enforceable and strong.
- Adobe Systems Inc. v. Bea’s Hive (S.D. Fla. 2014) — Preliminary injunction after an evidentiary hearing.
- Martin Memorial Health Systems v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (S.D. Fla. 2014) — Declaratory action seeking a ruling of no trademark infringement or dilution.
Patent, copyright and trade secret
- Laser Pegs Ventures v. NToys (M.D. Fla. 2017) — Permanent injunction and $400,000 damages award.
- Sedna Aire USA v. Sunologi (S.D. Fla. 2016) — Injunction and $340,000 settlement.
- Platypus Wear Inc. v. Horizonte Ltda. (11th Cir. 2014) — Defense verdict after a three-week Miami jury trial, affirmed on appeal.
- SJ MedConnect, Inc. v. Boice (M.D. Fla. 2022) — Judgment under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, Florida Uniform Trade Secrets Act and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
- Modulus Global Inc. v. Gruhn (D. Ariz. 2026) — Defeated a personal jurisdiction challenge in a cryptocurrency source-code trade secret dispute.
In the News: Law360
Law360, the national legal news service, has reported on Robert’s litigation for brand owners and creators, including trademark and unfair competition matters:
| Date | Law360 headline | Robert’s role |
|---|---|---|
| April 8, 2024 | “Nvidia Copied ‘Modulus’ Mark, Financial Software Co. Says” | Counsel to Modulus in a trademark infringement and unfair competition action against Nvidia over the MODULUS mark |
| May 25, 2021 | “With Waco In The Rearview, TracFone Seeks To Ax IP Suit” | Co-counsel to the plaintiff in IP litigation against TracFone |
| October 28, 2019 | “Netflix Can’t Ditch ‘Narcos’ Suit Ahead Of Trial” | Counsel to journalist Virginia Vallejo; quoted calling the ruling “vindicating” for his client |
Robert has also been featured as a media commentator on IP and technology issues for Local 10 (ABC) in Miami, the Florida Record and WIOD News Radio, including on Romero Britto’s trade dress dispute with Apple and FIU’s trademark suit against FNU.
Credentials
Education
- LL.M., Intellectual Property Law, with honors — The John Marshall Law School (now UIC School of Law), 2004
- J.D., with honors — University of Florida Levin College of Law, 2002; Order of Barristers; Certificate in Intellectual Property; Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Technology Law & Policy; Vice-Chair, Justice Campbell Thornal Moot Court Board
- B.S., Chemical Engineering, cum laude — University of Notre Dame, 1999
Admissions
- The Florida Bar and Illinois, 2003
- Registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 2006
- U.S. District Courts for the Southern, Middle and Northern Districts of Florida and the Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Eleventh, Seventh and Federal Circuits
Recognition
- The Best Lawyers in America — every year since 2013, in Trademark Law, Copyright Law, Litigation – Intellectual Property and Litigation – Patent
- Florida Super Lawyers — annually since 2013, including six years among the Top 100 Attorneys in Miami in all practice areas; Rising Star, 2010–2012
- Florida Trend Legal Elite — multiple-year honoree
- South Florida Legal Guide, Top Lawyers in Intellectual Property — multiple years
- Daily Business Review Rising Stars, 2013; 40 Under 40 Outstanding Attorneys of Miami-Dade County, 2009
Leadership and professional activities
- International Trademark Association (INTA) — Brand Restrictions Committee; Co-Chair, Advocacy Subcommittee (2025–present)
- Asociación Interamericana de la Propiedad Intelectual (ASIPI) — U.S. Delegate (2019–present)
- Association of Intellectual Property Firms (AIPF) — Former Member, Board of Directors; frequent speaker at AIPF annual meetings
- Intellectual Property Owners Association — U.S. Trademark Law & Litigation Committee (2021–present)
- Intellectual Property Law Association of Florida — President (2013–2014), Vice President and Secretary
- The Florida Bar — Chair, Intellectual Property Committee (2011–2012); Chair, Computer & Cyber Law Committee; Business Law Section Executive Council; Federal Court Practice Committee (2022–present)
- Florida IP American Inn of Court — Master of the Bench (2026–present)
- Copyright Society of the U.S.A. — Founder and Chair, Miami Chapter; Co-Chair, 2018 Mid-Year National Meeting
Teaching and Speaking
Robert is an adjunct professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he teaches trademark and IP litigation courses, and serves on the Executive Committee of the UF Law Center Association Board of Trustees. He is a past President of the UF Law Alumni Council. He lectures regularly at the University of Notre Dame, the University of Miami School of Law and Florida State University College of Law.
Selected Publications
- “Trademark Survey Evidence: Review of Current Trends in the Ninth Circuit,” 21 Santa Clara Computer & High Tech. L.J. 715 (2005)
- “Trademark Surveys: Development of Computer Based Survey Methods,” LL.M. dissertation (2004)
- “Trade Secrets in the Digital Age,” ABA SciTech Lawyer (2006)
- “Electronic Discovery in Florida,” The Florida Bar Journal (2006)
- “Stadium Naming Rights,” 2 Va. Sports & Ent. L.J. 328 (2003)
Community Involvement
Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, Trustee; Coral Gables Bar Association; University of Miami Citizens’ Board; Coral Gables Community Foundation, Merrick Society; former Trustee, First United Methodist Church of Coral Gables.
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