Don holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Villanova University, an M.S. in Computer Science from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, an M.S. in Computer Integrated Manufacturing from Brigham Young University, and a J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law.

Don is a Registered Patent Attorney admitted to practice in the United States Patent and Trademark Office and is admitted to practice law in the New Jersey Bar, Pennsylvania Bar, and the United States District Court (D. N.J.).

In his free time, Don likes to enjoy golfing, watching sports, listening to music, meditating, and walking on the beach with his wife.

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He was among one of the first group of attorneys to be certified by the Florida Bar as an expert in intellectual property law. Certification represents the highest level of recognition of the competency and experience of an attorney by the Supreme Court of Florida.

Additionally, for more than 20 years, he has served as an adjunct professor at the Nova Southeastern University Shepard Board Law Center where he teaches courses in intellectual property law. He is the author and narrator of “Patent Protection: A Practical Guide for Inventors”, part of an educational audio series produced to explain the nuances of the patenting process.

He is AV rated by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, the highest rating possible. His practice offerings include the preparation and prosecution of U.S. and international patent and trademark applications, patent and trademark validity and infringement opinions, licensing agreements, transactional support, and all aspects of intellectual property litigation.

Based upon nominations taken exclusively from other practicing attorneys, John was selected as a “2004 Best of the Bar” finalist by the South Florida Business Journal. He was previously selected as a “2003 Best of the Bar” finalist and was one of only two attorneys recognized for expertise in the area of patent law.

John received his Juris Doctorate (J.D.), from the University of Miami School of Law, and has a Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Civil Engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology. He is licensed to practice in both Florida and New York and is also admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, D.C.

Additionally, he is admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the Florida Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, and the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York.

Before establishing his own practice, John spent several years as a registered patent attorney at the internationally renowned intellectual property law firm of Fish & Neave in New York City (now merged with Ropes & Gray LLP). Over the course of its history, the firm has been retained by Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, the Wright Brothers, and Alexander Graham Bell when they desired protection for their pioneering inventions. Fish & Neave made history again in 1992 by procuring a $972 million-dollar judgment against Polaroid for patent infringement. To date, this remains the largest patent infringement judgment in history. During his tenure at Fish & Neave, John enjoyed a multifaceted litigation and prosecution-based practice dedicated to providing clients with effective legal barriers to competition through the application of patent, trademark, and copyright laws.

He has written a number of articles on intellectual property and is regularly featured in the press as a recognized expert on issues relating to patent and trademark law. He is a member of the Licensing Executives Society, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, and the New York Intellectual Property Law Association.Prior to becoming an attorney, John worked as a registered patent agent at the Miami office of Malloy & Malloy, P.A., an intellectual property law firm. He also practiced as a consulting engineer focusing on structural systems, engineering, and foundation design. He is a past college president of  Chi Epsilon, the Civil Engineering Honor Society, and a member of  Tau Beta Pi, the National Engineering Honor Society.

Fun fact: Natalie walked across Spain on the Camino de Santiago – 35 days as a single female pilgrim. She says it was “life chaging!”

Natalie attended Ave Maria School of Law in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and formerly earned her degree in chemistry from the University of Colorado in Boulder, where she also performed on their competitive dance team. She worked int the Trademarks Department at Harley-Davidson, and gained much of her patent experience working with a boutique patent firm in North Miami, Florida. She chose to work at The Patent Professor® because of its strong reputation not just locally, but nationally.

He takes pride in drafting patent applications for inventors, responding to Office Actions from the USPTO, and procuring the broadest patent protection possible for our clients

Rafay holds a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University. As an undergraduate, Rafay’s research dealt with the surface modification of semiconductors, with a focus on fabrication of biosensors. His research was then published in J. Phys. Chem. C, v.114, 15486–15490.

Rafay holds a J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. As a law student, Rafay was able to procure patent prosecution experience through the Colorado Pro Bono Patent Initiative, a program that assists financially under-resourced inventors with patent preparation professionals. Additionally, Rafay was among the first graduating class at DU to receive a certificate in intellectual property law—taking specialized courses such as patent prosecution, patent litigation, and patent office litigation.

Rafay is currently a Registered Patent Attorney who focuses on patent and trademark preparation and prosecution. He’s had the opportunity to prosecute patents on a wide array of technologies areas ranging from medical devices and mechanical systems to consumer goods. In addition to vast expertise of knowledge, Rafay has experience assisting in patent and trademark litigation matters in Federal Court at both the circuit and appellate level.

Rafay is more than just a patent attorney, he’s our client’s biggest advocate. He enjoys working with new inventors and entrepreneurs on not only procuring the broadest patent protection possible for their ideas, but educating them and getting them excited about the patent process.

She attended the University of the Basque Country (Spain) where she received her Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering. After graduating, Ana worked as an R&D engineer for ZIV (Spanish manufacturer of Electrical Power Relay Equipment) and Ericsson (Swedish telecommunications multinational). She then worked as a Patent Agent & Head of Patent Department for an IP boutique firm located in Bilbao, Spain.

In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, pets, listening to music, watching movies, drawing, reading, photography, going for walks, barbecues, and Cuban coffee.

What do you like about working at this law firm?

“I honestly love working with John and the team he has built. I also like that hard work and teamwork are valued. I share the firm’s passion in helping individual inventors and entrepreneurs with their “first steps” in patenting.”

Fun fact: David enjoys scuba diving with his twin brother, mountaineering, skiing, and traveling.

David has extensive knowledge in foreign filing matters. He earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Walla Walla University, and earned his J.D. from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law.

Fun fact: Jaksha’s favorite hobby outside of work is taking his dog to the park.

Jaksha earned his J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law in 1999 while working at Lehman Brothers. He also graduated with a major in Economics and a minor in Political Science from Hobart & William Smith College in upstate New York. Jaksha worked as a junior associate with Dilworth & Barrese, LLP while attending Hofstra University at night, from which he graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry. While a Hofstra, Jaksha conducted research in food science alongside a professor, and they presented their work at an American Cancer Society student meeting. That same research resulted in a peer-reviewed journal of which Jaksha is co-author. Jaksha later worked as an associate for the Connecticut office of Cantor Colburn, an intellectual property law firm. In 2005 he returned to Dilworth & Barrese, LLP where he became a partner in 2012. There, he worked in the chemical arts for corporations, mid-size companies, and individual inventors.

Steven is one of our Post-Search Specialists and is a former USPTO patent examiner.

At The Patent Professor®, Steven guides inventors through the process of obtaining a patent search. In addition to interviewing the inventor to determine the novelty of their invention, he also reviews, analyzes, and presents the patent search results to the client in a way that makes sense. He also assists in the preparation of patent applications and reviewing and analyzing Office Actions.

Former Patent Examiners are Helping our Clients Win Patents

Like much of U.S. law, patent law is an “adversarial” system in which the inventor and the examiners (i.e. – at the Patent Office, these are essentially like “judges” in a regular court) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office are working at cross purposes.

The innovator wants their invention to have the widest reach and broadest protection possible. The patent examiners are the judges who determine what does and doesn’t get patented, and they look for any legal reason they can find to reject the patent application.

Failing that, they seek to limit and restrict the innovator’s rights as narrowly as they can. The patent lawyer is, at least nominally, the bridge between the inventor and the USPTO, translating the inventor’s idea into language the USPTO recognizes and the USPTO’s decrees into plain English.

Because of the adversarial nature of patent law, any error in a patent application or the supporting documents or any weakness on the attorney’s part in pushing for claim coverage where it is justified can derail a patent, with potentially disastrous results. Something as simple as a single letter in a patent application has resulted in a denial of rights. There is no room for error in the high stakes game of securing intellectual property.

One of the key points which sets The Patent Professor® apart from most law firms is that we are fortunate to have not one, but four former patent examiners are on our staff. These are highly qualified patent judges who have switched teams from working as a governmental employee to joining the inventor’s side of the scales.

These people know what the Patent Office looks for in an application and the supporting documents, and both common and arcane reasons why these documents either succeed or fail before the examiners.

Having access to their intimate knowledge and understanding of the Patent Office’s inner workings is a huge advantage for our clients, and one which few other law firms can legitimately claim.

Fun fact: David provides valuable consultation on patentability issues in Spanish with clients in Central and South America.

At The Patent Professor®, David guides inventors through the process of obtaining a patent search. In addition to interviewing the inventor to determine the novelty of their invention, he also reviews, analyzes, and presents the patent search results to the client in a way that makes sense. He also assists in the preparation of patent applications and reviewing and analyzing Office Actions.

Former Patent Examiners are Helping our Clients Win Patents

Like much of U.S. law, patent law is an “adversarial” system in which the inventor and the examiners (i.e. – at the Patent Office, these are essentially like “judges” in a regular court) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office are working at cross purposes.

The innovator wants their invention to have the widest reach and broadest protection possible. The patent examiners are the judges who determine what does and doesn’t get patented, and they look for any legal reason they can find to reject the patent application.

Failing that, they seek to limit and restrict the innovator’s rights as narrowly as they can. The patent lawyer is, at least nominally, the bridge between the inventor and the USPTO, translating the inventor’s idea into language the USPTO recognizes and the USPTO’s decrees into plain English.

Because of the adversarial nature of patent law, any error in a patent application or the supporting documents or any weakness on the attorney’s part in pushing for claim coverage where it is justified can derail a patent, with potentially disastrous results. Something as simple as a single letter in a patent application has resulted in a denial of rights. There is no room for error in the high stakes game of securing intellectual property.

One of the key points which sets The Patent Professor® apart from most law firms is that we are fortunate to have not one, but four former patent examiners are on our staff. These are highly qualified patent judges who have switched teams from working as a governmental employee to joining the inventor’s side of the scales.

These people know what the Patent Office looks for in an application and the supporting documents, and both common and arcane reasons why these documents either succeed or fail before the examiners.

Having access to their intimate knowledge and understanding of the Patent Office’s inner workings is a huge advantage for our clients, and one which few other law firms can legitimately claim.