Biography
Daniel T. Chavka is a registered patent attorney, focusing his practice on patent procurement and portfolio strategy. He thrives on engaging with the latest technological advancements, particularly in the medical device space, and is passionate about finding creative ways to protect the inventions of his clients. In-house counsel and managers, invention review committees, and inventors rely on Daniel’s extensive experience to help them to evaluate new innovations, develop protection strategies, and implement those strategies around the world.
Much of his prosecution experience has been high-stakes and complex, entailing competitor surveillance to devise claims of strategic value, appealing rejected applications to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and equivalent bodies abroad, and leveraging continuation and divisional applications to maximize the reach of his clients’ portfolios.
Daniel is experienced in leading freedom-to-operate investigations, including for products nearing commercial launch. He is skilled in advising individuals across an organization, from executives to product developers, on how to safely maneuver through what can appear to be a maze of patent claims. These activities often result in Daniel rendering formal opinions on patent non-infringement and invalidity. Clients also turn to Daniel for due diligence and analysis when acquiring patent portfolios and when surveying the patent landscape to gain insight into the patenting activities of their competitors.
Daniel served as a patent examiner in the medical device arts at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). He leverages the insights he gained as an examiner to hone the prosecution strategies of his clients, for both quality and efficiency. His examiner experience is particularly useful in guiding foreign-derived applications through the USPTO.
Accomplishments
- Led multiple ex parte appeals before the Patent Trial and Board, including oral arguments, with a successful track record of overturning difficult obviousness rejections
- Led a comprehensive freedom-to-operate analysis and advised on product design for a medical device, enabling a publicly-traded company to successfully launch the product
- Drafted and prosecuted hundreds of patent applications across a variety of mechanical, electromechanical, and software technologies in the USPTO and foreign patent offices
- Managed and contributed to multiple oppositions of European patents relating to drug delivery devices
- Named by Emerging Lawyers Magazine as an Emerging Lawyer in 2025, 2022, 2021, and 2020, an award granted to the top 2% of Illinois attorneys who are 40 years old or younger or who have been practicing for 10 or fewer years
Education
- Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology (J.D.)
- University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (B.S., with honors)
- Mechanical Engineering
- English minor
Bar Admissions
Publications and Presentations
- “Competitor Insight: Firms Reveal Medical Device Opportunities,” Managing IP, Quoted as an Expert, March 17, 2025.
- “Medical Device Update: § 101 Rejections & Combination IP Considerations,” CLE Presentation, Sole Presenter, January 23, 2025.
- "How Patent Landscape Studies Can Guide Medical Device Innovation," Author, Medical Design Briefs, September 2019 issue.
- "Chicago Women in IP (ChiWIP) Roundtable Series: 3D Printing," CLE Presentation, Co-Presenter & Panelist, May 2, 2018.
- "Making 3D Printing Eco-Friendly: A Potential Opportunity for Patent Protection,” INNOVATE Magazine, Co-Author, September 2018 Issue.