overview

Dan McGrath uses his broad engineering background to help clients with patent issues related to a wide range of technologies, such as sensors, signal processing, computer software and networking, and medical devices, handling all aspects of patent prosecution from drafting through appeals. Dan also helps advise companies on intellectual property, including advising on IP protection and concerns related to competitors’ IP. To that end, he prepares infringement, non-infringement, validity, and non-validity opinions. Additionally, Dan has worked on resolving patent disputes in court and has substantial patent litigation experience.

One of Dan’s specialties is prosecuting software patents before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Since Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International was decided in 2014, a cloud of uncertainty has surrounded software patent applications and whether a given application would be deemed an unpatentable “abstract idea” under Section 101 by the examiner assigned to the case. Over the years, Dan has worked to leverage the most favorable cases for patent applicants to overcome a large number of Section 101 rejections, resulting in issued patents for clients.

Before law school, Dan worked as a field engineer for the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority on alternative energy and water and wastewater transmission and treatment projects. He graduated summa cum laude at Suffolk University Law School and completed an IP concentration with distinction while working full time at a Boston law firm.

education

J.D., summa cum laude, Suffolk University Law School

B.S., Civil Engineering, cum laude, University of Massachusetts Lowell

admissions

Massachusetts

United States Patent and Trademark Office

honors & awards

Suffolk University Law School

  • Trustee Academic Scholarship
  • Legal Practice Skills (LPS) – Best Oral Advocate Award
  • Judge Harry Kalus Book Award – Excellence in Massachusetts Practice Course
  • Jurisprudence Award: Torts
  • Intellectual Property Concentration, with Distinction
  • Summa Cum Laude Honors

Engineer-in-Training Certification, passed Fundamentals of Engineering Exam