Patrick Darno

About Patrick

A principal in Fish’s Washington, D.C.* office, Patrick Darno focuses his practice on patent prosecution and counseling related to matters before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Patrick’s technical background reflects his extensive history working with companies in the bioinformatics and communications fields.

In recent years, Patrick has focused his practice on the intersection of computer technology and life sciences. During this time, he has specialized in the preparation and prosecution of patent applications related to primary, secondary, and tertiary analysis of genomic data produced by next-generation sequencing machines such as those produced by Illumina Inc. In addition, Patrick has gained substantial experience preparing and prosecuting patent applications in other bioinformatics-related technologies, including the digital therapeutics technology space. A routine part of Patrick’s practice in the bioinformatics technology space includes advising clients on prosecution strategies that can be used to prepare and prosecute patent applications that will survive subject matter patent eligibility challenges at the USPTO under 35 U.S.C. 101.

Patrick also has a strong background in telecommunications technology. Throughout his career, Patrick has worked with large multinational technology companies on patents involving a variety of technologies, including databases, data search and retrieval, query optimization, data mining, search engines, cloud computing, web services, e-commerce, internet-based applications, mobile applications, mobile communication networks, digital rights management, file management, database management, data retention policies, data integrity, network management, load balancing, data structures, electronic messaging, financial transactions, and other types of business methods.

In addition to his prosecution and counseling practice, Patrick works with clients to resolve post-grant challenges at the USPTO.

Prior to joining Fish, Patrick’s previous legal work included both patent litigation and patent prosecution as an associate at a general practice law firm, and he also worked as a patent examiner at the USPTO where he handled patent applications in the fields of database, data structures, and file management.

Patrick also dedicates his time to pro bono causes. For several years, he has provided pro bono patent prosecution services to an inventor who, at the age of 14, created an innovative technology to fight cyberbullying on social media networks. The technology has since been used in over 1,500 schools around the world.

Patrick also volunteers as a coach for the Columbus School of Law students competing in the USPTO’s annual National Patent Application Drafting Competition, giving him an opportunity to help mentor the next generation of intellectual property attorneys from his law school. In his spare time, Patrick enjoys the “you-pick” farms, wineries, and museums Northern Virginia has to offer his family of five.

*Admitted only in Virginia. Not admitted to practice in Washington, D.C. Work conducted in Washington, D.C., is directly supervised by a member of the D.C. bar or is limited to federal courts or agencies listed below or otherwise authorized by law.

Publications

• “Legal Alert: Post-Prosecution Pilot (“P3”) Program,” Fish Patent Blog (July 2016)

Speaking Engagements

• “Successful Strategies for Patenting Bioinformatics and Computational Genomics,” Fish Webinar (October 26, 2022)
• “Successful Patent Strategies for Digital Health and Digital Therapeutics,” Fish Webinar (October 27, 2021)
• “Patentability of Software After Alice,” Fish Webinar (November 2016)

Media Mentions

• “Fish & Richardson’s Role In Making The Web Safer For Teens,” Law360 (March 11, 2022)
• “Patent Pro Bono Work Protects IP of Technology Aimed at Ending Cyberbullying,” ABA Center for Pro Bono Exchange (February 8, 2022)

• Named to “The Best Lawyers in America” list by The Best Lawyers in America© (2022-2023)