Michael Van Handel, Senior Counsel

Michael (“Mike”) Van Handel counsels clients in all areas of intellectual property (IP) law, with a focus on patent prosecution, post-grant proceedings, diligence, and licensing. As a former Primary Patent Examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Mike has firsthand knowledge of the USPTO and the patent examination process. He has represented clients in patent prosecution matters before the USPTO since 2011. Mike has represented clients in numerous inter partes review (IPR) matters, and has presented oral argument before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). He has been involved in numerous patent litigation matters in federal district court and at the International Trade Commission (ITC).

Mike has extensive experience investigating potential issues of patent infringement. He has conducted IP due diligence for companies in freedom-to-operate (FTO) investigations and in corporate mergers and acquisitions. Mike has investigated hundreds of products for evidence of patent infringement and has engaged dozens of companies in patent licensing discussions.

Mike’s practice covers a broad range of technologies, examples of which include sensors, lighting, power supplies, thermal management systems, optics, software applications, computer hardware, computer networks, radio frequency systems, audio/video systems, storage systems, content distribution and management, network security, medical devices, and business methods.

Mike has worked in the field of IP law since 2005 when he joined the USPTO as a patent examiner. Between 2011 and 2021, he represented clients in patent matters at large international law firms, including at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett, and Dunner (Finnegan), Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale, and Dorr (WilmerHale), and DLA Piper. Before joining Daly, Crowley, Mofford, and Durkee, Mike was Senior IP Counsel in the patent licensing group at Signify North America Corporation (formerly known as Philips Lighting). Prior to working in IP law, Mike was a radio frequency (RF) engineer at EchoStar Technologies.

Mike holds a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from The George Washington University Law School, where he received the Chris Bartok Award as the member of the graduating class exhibiting excellence in the study of patent law. He holds a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Mike is admitted to the Massachusetts and District of Columbia bars, and is registered to practice before the USPTO.

Michael Van Handel, Senior Counsel

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