David Fairbairn
Professional Experience
Dave is President and a founding attorney of Kinney & Lange. For more than 30 years, Dave has guided clients on all aspects of intellectual property management and protection for patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. As a leader in his field, he has served as a President of the Minnesota Intellectual Property Law Association and Chair of the Patent Law Committee of the American Intellectual Property Law Association. His technology experience includes, but is not limited to, aerospace, data storage devices and systems, control systems, electrical and electromechanical, mechanical, medical devices, optical devices and systems, and semiconductor devices and processes.
Dave brings a measured and strategic approach to counsel of both domestic and international IP. He focuses on complex portfolio prosecution and infringement issues that require detailed drafting, thorough clearance and third-party opinions. Dave is also an accomplished litigator in all phases of IP protection, from pre-trial analysis and “Markman” hearings to settlement negotiations, injunctive relief, trials and appeals. Specific expertise includes trademark oppositions and cancellations and international trade commission proceedings. A highlight of his career was serving as lead counsel for SPX Corporation in a patent infringement lawsuit with Snap-On Tools involving automotive test equipment. The case spanned several years, and SPX received a damage award of $44 million in late 2001.
Dave is licensed to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and Canadian Intellectual Property Office. He is a frequent lecturer on U.S. patent law and has served as adjunct faculty at local universities for communications law and marketing law. He is a member of the Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu Engineering Honors Societies.
As a tournament fisherman, Dave qualified for both the 1994 and 1995 MWC World Walleye Championships. He also is a serious collector of baseball memorabilia. Dave has been ranked in SuperLawyers® every year since its inception.
Education
- William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota
- Juris Doctor, cum laude, May 1973
- University of Minnesota Institute of Technology, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Bachelor of Engineering, Electrical, with distinction, May 1969
- Tau Beta Pi
- Eta Kappa Nu
Bar Admissions
- United States Patent and Trademark Office
- Canada Intellectual Property Office
- Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- Supreme Court of the State of Minnesota
- United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
- Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- United States District Court for the District of Colorado
- United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
Publications
- Patent Freedom to Operate Searches, Opinions, Techniques, and Studies, (ABA, 2017), co-author
- Alice Corporation Pty., Ltd., v. CLS Bank International: Computer Implemented Inventions, The IP Book, Minnesota IP Institute (12th Edition, 2014)
- Today’s Claim Construction Framework at the Federal Circuit, The IP Book, Minnesota IP Institute (2nd Edition, 2004)
- The “Written Description” Requirement: Recent Cases and Their Practice Implications, The IP Book, Minnesota IP Institute (2nd Edition, 2004)
- Reclaiming the Grey Area: Recent Developments in the Recapture Doctrine for Reissue Applications, The IP Book, Minnesota IP Institute (2nd Edition, 2004)
- Overview of Intellectual Property for Business Lawyers, Kinney & Lange, P.A. (annual)
- Intellectual Property Law for Business Lawyers, Kinney & Lange, P.A. (annual)
Community Involvement
- Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA), Volunteer of the Year, 2005
Selected Presentations
- Regular speaker at Intellectual Property Law Association and Kinney & Lange’s Intellectual Property for Business Lawyers seminar