Donald S. Showalter Attorney At Law

Rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell, Don has practiced intellectual property law exclusively since 1985. His practice focuses on electrical, electronic, optical, computer and mechanical technologies. Don has defended clients in patent infringement litigation before various U.S. district courts on patents relating to a wide range of technologies and has briefed and orally argued patent infringement cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Don has also represented clients in trademark and copyright infringement cases and has served both as mediator and as counsel to parties in mediation.

Don is a registered patent attorney whose practice includes preparation and prosecution of utility and design patent applications (both domestic and international), patentability, infringement and validity opinions, reexamination and reissue proceedings, foreign patent oppositions, and federal patent litigation. Don provides legal advice to clients on how to design or redesign their products to avoid or reduce the risk of liability for infringing patents owned by others. Don has testified in federal court as a patent law expert concerning the efficacy of a product design adopted by a company to avoid infringing the patent of a competitor.

Don’s trademark practice involves securing, maintaining and enforcing trademark rights in the United States and abroad. Don counsels clients on the selection of new marks; conducts clearance investigations and renders availability and infringement opinions; and provides legal advice concerning trademarks, company names, domain names and related unfair competition issues.  Federal, state and foreign registrations are obtained, maintained and renewed. Don is experienced in trademark litigation as well as in the prosecution and defense of related proceedings such as oppositions and cancellations of registrations and disputes concerning Internet domain names.

In addition to drafting and negotiating licenses and transfers of all forms of intellectual property, Don has experience in preparing and negotiating agreements relating to software development, acquisitions of computer hardware and software, work made for hire agreements, confidentiality agreements, employee agreements, software distribution agreements, application service provider agreements, and source code escrows. He also assists clients in mergers and acquisitions in connection with due diligence in the intellectual property area, including ownership/title issues, scope of rights, infringements and trade secret issues.

Don is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and, in addition to being a member of The Florida Bar, is a member of the bars of the Supreme Court of Ohio and of the U.S. district courts for the Southern District of Florida, the Middle District of Florida, the Southern District of Ohio, the Eastern District of Michigan and the Western District of Tennessee.  He is also admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

• Background

  Don was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He attained the rank of Eagle Scout and earned his bachelor's in electrical-biomedical engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1977.  Don worked for a subsidiary of Alcoa in a number of engineering and supervisory positions in the areas of power distribution, control systems, product design and testing.  He earned his juris doctor from the University of Pittsburgh in 1985.  Prior to joining GrayRobinson, Don was a capital partner with Holland and Knight LLP for 11.5 years.

• Education
  • Carnegie-Mellon University, B.S. (Electrical-Biomedical Engineering, 1977)
  • University of Pittsburgh, J.D. (cum laude, 1985)
• Admissions
  • Florida
  • Ohio
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee
• Professional Associations and Memberships
  • American Intellectual Property Law Association
  • International Trademark Association
  • Broward County Bar Association Intellectual Property Law Section, Past Chair
• Awards and Recognitions
  • Boy Scouts of America South Florida Council, 2016 Silver Beaver Award
  • Florida Board Certified in Intellectual Property Law
  • "Top Lawyer," Fort Lauderdale Illustrated, 2021
  • Florida Super Lawyers, Intellectual Property, 2012-2016
  • Best Lawyers in America, 2006-2024
    • Lawyer of the Year, Litigation - Intellectual Property, 2021
    • Lawyer of the Year, Patent Law, 2019
    • Lawyer of the Year, Litigation - Intellectual Property, 2016
    • Lawyer of the Year, Litigation - Patent, 2015
  • Who's Who Legal International, Patents, 2009-2013, 2020
  • Martindale-Hubbell, AV Preeminent® Rating
  • South Florida Legal Guide, Top Lawyer Intellectual Property and Technology, 2007-2010
• Civic
  • Boy Scouts of America, South Florida Council
    • Executive Board, 2010-2020