Donald R. Dunner

Partner

Donald Dunner has worked in all phases of patent law, including prosecution, licensing, litigation, validity and infringement studies, and counseling. He has technical expertise in the areas of chemical engineering, chemistry, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals.

Currently, Mr. Dunner is involved predominantly in intellectual property litigation and has earned the reputation of being one of the finest litigators in the country. He has litigated numerous cases in the federal district courts and is best known for appellate practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and its predecessor court, the U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals. He has had significant success overturning jury and other verdicts handed down by lower district courts. The New York Times reported that he has argued more Federal Circuit cases than any other litigator in the U.S.

Mr. Dunner served as chairman of the Advisory Committee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for the first ten years of the Court’s existence and participated in the drafting of the Court’s rules (1982-92). He continuously served as chair or co-chair of the Planning Committee for the judicial conferences of the Court of Appeals and CCPA (1974-1992).

Highlights

• Most notable case involved the complete reversal of $80 million jury verdict for Mattel’s Hot WheelsTM toys.
• Former examiner with the USPTO.
• Served as a law clerk to the Honorable Noble J. Johnson, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals.
• Professorial lecturer at The George Washington University School of Law, teaching a course on Federal Circuit practice.

Professional Recognition

• Named Washington, DC’s Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers (2010).
• Listed in the Washingtonian Magazine as a “Top Lawyer” (2009).
• Recognized as a leader in the field of Intellectual Property Law by Chambers & Partners in its guide, Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (2007-2009).
• Selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America (1995-2010).
• Recognized by Legal Times as one of 30 legal visionaries who have helped shape the legal community in Washington, DC over the past 30 years (2008).
• Listed in Washington DC Super Lawyers as one of the top ten lawyers in Washington (2009).
• Named as one of the top ten patent lawyers in the world by Global Counsel.
• Named International Lawyer of the Year for Patents by Who’s Who Legal: The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers in 2005.
• Inducted in 2004 into the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.
• Recipient of the NJIPL Jefferson Medal in 2004.
• Washington Business Forward named Mr. Dunner in 2002 as the “attorney to call to protect your intellectual property”.
• Recognized in 2000 by the National Law Journal as one of the nation’s 100 most influential lawyers.
• Selected as Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers since 1995.
• Member of the Secretary of Commerce’s Advisory Commission on Patent Law Reform, 1991-92.
• Member of the U.S. Delegation to the Diplomatic Conference on Revision of the Paris Convention, 1981-82.
• Member of the President’s Advisory Committee on Industrial Innovation, 1978-79.
• Consultant to the Commission on Revision of the Federal Court Appellate System, 1974.

Professional Activities

• American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, 2004-present
• ABA House of Delegates, 2002-present
• American College of Trial Lawyers, 1995-present
• American Bar Association, (Section on Intellectual Property Law, Chair, 1995-1996)
• American Intellectual Property Law Association (President, 1979-1980)
• District of Columbia Bar, (Chair, Steering Committee, Division 14, 1976-1977)
• Bar Association of the District of Columbia (Section on Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law, Chair, 1964-1965; Board of Directors, 1965-1966)
• National Council of Patent Law Associations (Secretary, 1963-1966)

Select Publications

• Coauthor. “Cybor Corp v. FAS Technologies: The Final Say on Appellate Review of Claim Construction?” Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office Society, July 1998.
• Coauthor. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: Practice and Procedure, Matthew Bender, 1976-present.
• Coauthor. Patent Law Perspectives, Matthew Bender, 1982-1988.