Jon P. Darling :: Nixon & Vanderhye PC

Phone: 703-816-4887 Fax: 703-816-4100 e-mail: jpd@nixonvan.com Education: Tulane University (B.S., magna cum laude, Mechanical Engineering, 1989) George Washington University Law School (J.D., with Honors, 1997)	JOHN P. DARLING joined Nixon & Vanderhye as a staff attorney in 2007. He primarily focuses on preparation and prosecution of patent portfolios, both U.S. and international. Mr. Darling's practice includes all aspects of preparation and prosecution, including evaluating invention disclosures, interviewing inventors, and drafting and prosecuting applications in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and collaborating with associates on prosecution in international patent offices. Mr. Darling has prepared and successfully filed many affidavits and declarations under Rules 131 and 132 to establish priority of invention and non-obviousness. He has also prepared and prosecuted numerous reissue applications, and reexamination proceedings. Mr. Darling has prepared briefings for, and argued before, the United States Patent and Trademark Office's Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. Mr. Darling also has experience in providing patentability, non-infringement, and invalidity opinions. He has provided advice regarding designing around patents, and advice on the sale and licensing of patents. Some of the technologies in which Mr. Darling has prepared and prosecuted applications, and opined on, include internal combustion engines, vehicle transmissions, hybrid vehicles, recreational vehicles, laser and ink jet printing, blue and white LED's, photolithographic processes and tools in the manufacture of semiconductors, medical apparatus including catheters, stents, syringes, and breathing apparatus, telephone call processing, flash memory, and optical media storage. Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Darling was a primary examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office from 1990-1999, and examined applications in the electro-mechanical arts. He was awarded the Department of Commerce Bronze Medal in 1999 for his service as a patent examiner. Mr. Darling also served as a design engineer at Baker Oil Tools in Houston where he designed and tested product modifications to meet customer specifications. Mr. Darling is active in the legal community, including acting as a Guardian Ad Litem in several cases on a pro bono basis at the request of the Children's Law Center of Washington, D.C. Mr. Darling is also the current secretary, and past president, of the Northern Virginia Patent Lawyers Club. He is a voting member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association's Relations with the USPTO Committee. Mr. Darling received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (Magna Cum Laude) from Tulane University in 1989. He received his Juris Doctor (with Honors) from The George Washington University Law School in 1997. From 1999 to 2000, Mr. Darling practiced patent law at Oliff & Berridge, and from 2000-2006, he practiced law at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. Mr. Darling is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is also admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Phone:
703-816-4887

Fax:
703-816-4100

Education:
Tulane University (B.S., magna cum laude, Mechanical Engineering, 1989)

George Washington University Law School (J.D., with Honors, 1997)

JOHN P. DARLING joined Nixon & Vanderhye as a staff attorney in 2007. He primarily focuses on preparation and prosecution of patent portfolios, both U.S. and international.

Mr. Darling's practice includes all aspects of preparation and prosecution, including evaluating invention disclosures, interviewing inventors, and drafting and prosecuting applications in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and collaborating with associates on prosecution in international patent offices. Mr. Darling has prepared and successfully filed many affidavits and declarations under Rules 131 and 132 to establish priority of invention and non-obviousness. He has also prepared and prosecuted numerous reissue applications, and reexamination proceedings. Mr. Darling has prepared briefings for, and argued before, the United States Patent and Trademark Office's Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences.

Mr. Darling also has experience in providing patentability, non-infringement, and invalidity opinions. He has provided advice regarding designing around patents, and advice on the sale and licensing of patents.

Some of the technologies in which Mr. Darling has prepared and prosecuted applications, and opined on, include internal combustion engines, vehicle transmissions, hybrid vehicles, recreational vehicles, laser and ink jet printing, blue and white LED's, photolithographic processes and tools in the manufacture of semiconductors, medical apparatus including catheters, stents, syringes, and breathing apparatus, telephone call processing, flash memory, and optical media storage.

Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Darling was a primary examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office from 1990-1999, and examined applications in the electro-mechanical arts. He was awarded the Department of Commerce Bronze Medal in 1999 for his service as a patent examiner. Mr. Darling also served as a design engineer at Baker Oil Tools in Houston where he designed and tested product modifications to meet customer specifications.

Mr. Darling is active in the legal community, including acting as a Guardian Ad Litem in several cases on a pro bono basis at the request of the Children's Law Center of Washington, D.C. Mr. Darling is also the current secretary, and past president, of the Northern Virginia Patent Lawyers Club. He is a voting member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association's Relations with the USPTO Committee.

Mr. Darling received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (Magna Cum Laude) from Tulane University in 1989. He received his Juris Doctor (with Honors) from The George Washington University Law School in 1997. From 1999 to 2000, Mr. Darling practiced patent law at Oliff & Berridge, and from 2000-2006, he practiced law at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.

Mr. Darling is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is also admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.