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- Heidi R. Thole
Heidi Thole is a shareholder in the firm’s Intellectual Property group, where she helps clients protect and create value from their branding assets and creative works. A naturally inquisitive problem solver, Heidi combines extensive experience with thoughtful analysis to develop practical, innovative solutions tailored to each client’s needs and goals.
Heidi serves a wide range of clients, including local manufacturers, consumer product companies, financial institutions, food and beverage businesses, artists, writers, startups and international companies. Although their industries and goals may differ, each client has a story, a message and an identity to protect. Heidi brings a holistic approach to helping clients safeguard and strengthen these intellectual and creative assets.
Heidi concentrates on trademark disputes, portfolio strategy and brand enforcement, while also counseling clients on a broad range of intellectual property matters. She advises clients on trademark clearance, registration, enforcement and lifecycle management in the United States and internationally, as well as copyright protection, advertising and promotions, and intellectual property considerations in mergers, acquisitions and other transactions.
Heidi brings these skills together to help clients develop practical, business-minded strategies for protecting, managing and creating value from their intellectual property assets. She has significant experience with Trademark Trial and Appeal Board proceedings, where she advises clients on enforcement strategy, evidentiary development, settlement positioning, and strategy through trial briefing.
Heidi is also a member of Reinhart’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Team and can advise clients on the technical and regulatory requirements, challenges and opportunities of AI technology.
Away from the office, Heidi is an avid reader and active member of several book groups. She enjoys Milwaukee’s arts community, including art exhibits, museums and her service on the board of the Florentine Opera. She is also an avid runner, having completed a half marathon this year and looking forward to running a full marathon later this year.
Education
- J.D., University of Wisconsin Law School
- B.S., University of Wisconsin-Madison
Bar Admissions
Wisconsin
Court Admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
Practices
- Spearheaded domain name infringement campaign for global manufacturer; represented client in UDRP proceedings, resulting in arbitration orders to transfer domain names to client.
- Performed screenings, analyzed search reports, and drafted opinions for diverse clients, from startups to Fortune 500 companies, assessing trademark availability for use and/or registration.
- Prepared and filed responses that overcame wide variety of USPTO Office Actions, including likelihood of confusion, merely descriptive, primarily surname and insufficient evidence of distinctiveness refusals.
- Prevented registration of infringing third-party marks by analyzing publication reports, drafting cease and desist letters and coordinating foreign opposition proceedings with local counsel.
- Prepared and filed Trademark Trial and Appeal Board notices of opposition.
Honors
- "Ones to Watch" by Best Lawyers in America (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027)
- Pro Bono Honors Society
- Wisconsin Ideas Scholar
- Legal 500 City Elite 2026 (Intellectual Property, Wisconsin)
Affiliations
- Fellow, Wisconsin Law Foundation
- State Bar of Wisconsin (Board of Directors, Intellectual Property and Technology Section)
- Milwaukee Bar Association (Chair, Intellectual Property Section)
- International Trademark Association
- Wisconsin Entertainment Law Association (Board Member)
- Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association Mentor Program
- Reinhart Bridges Advisory Program Mentor
- Association for Women Lawyers
- Florentine Opera Board of Directors, Member
- TEMPO, EWL Member
News & Insights
- Intellectual Property Law Panel, Association for Women Lawyers (Oct. 16, 2025)
- MKE MusicTech Catalyst, Wisconsin Entertainment Lawyers Association (Oct. 3, 2022)
- CLE Presentation for ReinhartU CLE Presentation: Trademark Basics (February 16, 2022)
- 2021 Association of Corporate Counsel-Wisconsin Annual Conference: What In-House Counsel Need to Know About Obtaining Intellectual Property Protection Abroad (November 4, 2021)
- 2021 National Sports Law Institute’s Annual Summer CLE Seminar: First Amendment, Defamation, Fair Use and Privacy Challenges for the Documentary Filmmaker and Media Content Creator (June 25, 2021)
- IP for Creatives: An Entertainment Law Primer for Your Practice (June 22, 2021, WELA [Wisconsin Entertainment Law Association])
- CLE Presentation for the National Sports Law Institute of Marquette University Law School: First Amendment, Defamation, Fair Use and Privacy Challenges for the Documentary Filmmaker and Media Content Creator (June 25, 2021)
- CLE Presentation for Reinhart U: Marketing and Advertising Law (February 16, 2021)
- CLE Presentation to Milwaukee Bar Association: Booking.com B.V. v. United States Patent & Trademark Office: The Latest Supreme Court Trademark Case and Practical Implications for Practitioners (November 2020)
- Wisconsin Lawyer, "Wisconsin Legal Trends 2024" (February 2024)