David Cavanaugh has broad legal experience in industry and private practice and provides clients with strategic, business-focused counseling in the procurement, management and exploitation of their intellectual property. He has extensive experience in all aspects of intellectual property practice, including IP litigation, patent procurement, technology transfer and licensing, and due diligence for corporate transactions. Mr. Cavanaugh has developed and implemented intellectual property strategies suited for companies at all stages, from early startup phase to established business phase.

Since the implementation of the America Invents Act, Mr. Cavanaugh has been active in post-grant proceedings at the US Patent Office and was recently named by Patexia as one of the most active attorneys in inter partes review (IPR). He has filed petitions and represented patent owners in a variety of technologies and has been lead counsel or counsel of record on roughly 400 IPR proceedings. As lead counsel he has presented at dozens of oral hearings at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). He has also developed strategies for using IPRs as a vehicle toward settlement of related district court cases as well as developed strategies for joinder of parties. Mr. Cavanaugh has also represented patent owners in IPR proceedings and developed successful IPR strategies for patent owners. 

Along with IPRs, Mr. Cavanaugh routinely develops strategies for other post-grant proceedings such as ex parte reexaminations and reissues. He has extensive experience in inter partes reexamination and interferences. These procedures can be used to develop comprehensive strategies using all the procedures the US Patent Office provides.  

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Cavanaugh was a senior patent counsel in the legal department of Boston Scientific Corporation, responsible for the intellectual property matters in the radiology, neurology, urology and endoscopy divisions. Prior to his work with Boston Scientific, Mr. Cavanaugh was associated with Wolf, Greenfield and Sacks in Boston, where he provided patent support to a variety of medical device clients. Mr. Cavanaugh also has been a patent examiner at the Patent Office, where he examined patent applications in a variety of technologies. 

Professional Activities

Mr. Cavanaugh is a sought-after speaker on post-grant proceedings, specifically IPRs. He developed the post-grant class and curriculum for the American University Washington College of Law, where he has taught classes on patent litigation and post-grant proceedings since 2014. He has also frequently lectured on patent law–related topics at the New England College of Law.

Mr. Cavanaugh served on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council for six years, and he was also a board member of the New England Business and Technology Association. He has been selected by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to serve as a peer reviewer for its Small Business Matching Grant Program, which promotes the life sciences within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.