R. David Donoghue
Partner

Overview
R. David Donoghue is an established intellectual property (IP) trial attorney with jury trial success and a strong track record across district courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). He serves as the leader of Holland & Knight's national Intellectual Property Group and is based in the firm's Chicago office.
Mr. Donoghue advises clients from major corporations and midsize businesses on technology disputes such as patent, trade secret, trademark, copyright and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). Mr. Donoghue has been recommended in Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) Patent 1000 since 2014. A recent publication describes him as "A practical lawyer who gets right to the heart of any matter, David Donoghue really understands the most technical aspects of patent law. He is also great at figuring out how to win cases without spending a shed-load of his clients' money." He provides strong leadership to Holland & Knight's national IP group.
Whether he is asserting his client's IP, defending against competitors or fending off Non-Practicing Entities (NPE), Mr. Donoghue blends his deep litigation experience with practical business insight garnered from his in-house experience. As a founding member of Aptiv's (f/k/a Delphi) Technology Licensing and Litigation Group, he handled substantial international IP litigation and licensing matters.
In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Donoghue has served as an adjunct professor at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law, teaching legal research, writing and IP courses. At the beginning of his legal career, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Gordon J. Quist, federal district judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.
Mr. Donoghue is also the founder and principle author of the Chicago IP Litigation and Retail Patent Litigation blogs.
Representative Experience
Credentials
- Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., cum laude
- University of Michigan, B.S.E., Aerospace Engineering, magna cum laude
- California
- Illinois
- Michigan
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
- U.S. Supreme Court
- Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago, IP Litigation Committee, Vice Chair, 2020-present
- Federal Bar Association
- Law360 Intellectual Property Editorial Advisory Board, 2018, 2019
- University of Michigan Aerospace Engineering Alumni Association, Board Member
- University of Michigan College of Engineering Alumni Board Member
- The Best Lawyers in America guide, Patent Law, 2015-2025; Litigation – Patent, 2016-2025; Litigation – Intellectual Property, 2019-2025
- Illinois Super Lawyers magazine, 2014-2025
- Leading Litigators in America, Lawdragon 500, 2022, 2024, 2025
- Chambers USA – America's Leading Lawyers for Business guide, Intellectual Property, 2021-2024
- IAM Patent 1000, the World's Leading Patent Professionals - Litigation, International Asset Management magazine, 2014-2024
- The Irish Legal 100, Irish Voice, 2020-2023
- IP Star, Managing Intellectual Property magazine, Patent Contentious, Trademark Contentious, and Licensing, 2013-2021
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated
- Current Developments Editor for the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics
- Chicago Bar Association Herman Kogan Media Award