Software Patent Attorney

Daniel A. Tysver

Dan Tysver has been helping to patent software inventions for over thirty years. During this time, Dan has obtained patents on a variety of computing inventions, including mobile apps, artificial intelligence, data analytics, data storage, business methods, networking, and file systems.

Dan’s award-winning BitLaw website has provided free information on software patents and patent law to the public for decades. Hundreds of thousands use the website every year to understand how the patent law applies to computer software and hardware inventions, and for information on the patent process.

Because of Dan’s focus on patenting digital inventions, he has a great deal of experience in dealing with subject-matter eligibility issues. These issues are frequently encountered when applying for or enforcing a patent on software technologies. He has written extensively on this topic on the Bitlaw website (see the Section 101 Index for a brief overview and links to deeper dives). He has also presented numerous legal seminars explaining the intricacies of this arcane area of the law, and how software is still largely protectable under Section 101 of the United States Patent Act.

Dan is the primary outside intellectual property counsel for companies ranging from the Fortune 100 to start-up companies and solo inventors.

Feel free to contact Dan if you have any questions or if you would like to discuss the patent process with him.

Dan served for ten years as an adjunct professor of Software and Technology Law at the University of St. Thomas Graduate Programs in Software, and previously served as the adjunct professor of patent law at the University of Minnesota Law School. Dan is active in the legal community, having served on the governing council for the Computer/Tech Law Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association for more than twenty years. Dan has served as the chair of both the Computer Law Section as well as the Internet Law Committee of the bar association.

Dan received his undergraduate degree in physics from Carleton College and his law degree from Harvard Law School. He has been named a Super Lawyer and has previously been honored as a Top 40 IP Attorney by Minnesota Law and Politics.

Over the past twenty-five years, Dan has frequently presented to other attorneys and bar associations on intellectual property law in general, and the protection of computer software in particular. Some recent presentations include:

2022

• • “Disruption in the IP Space – Part I: A Focus on Emerging Technologies,” 2022 Midwest IP Institute (Patent and copyright protection for artificial intelligence, blockchain technologies, NFTs, and the metaverse)
  • “Protecting Digital Technologies: Using Copyright, Trade Secrets, and Patent Laws to Protect Digital Tech,” 2022 Tech Law Institute
  • “Seven Things You Need to Know to be ‘In the Know’ about Cryptocurrency, Blockchains, and Non-Fungible Tokens,” Cryptocurrency in the Practice of Law – Navigating Blockchain and Digital Assets in Minnesota

2021

• • “Blockchains and the Law–Understanding Smart Contracts, Crypto Currencies, and Non-Fungible Tokens,” New Technology and The Law
  • “Intellectual Property Protection for Software after Google v. Oracle;” 2021 Midwest IP Institute (Current status of copyright, patent, and trade secret protection for computer software)
  • “Intellectual Property Protection for Software after Google v. Oracle;” Webcast by Minnesota CLE
  • “Digital Assets in Bankruptcy: Cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and Virtual Assets,” 2021 Bankruptcy Institute