Joseph M. Schaffner

Joseph M. Schaffner is an Of Counsel attorney at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner (Finnegan), where his practice primarily focuses on patent litigation in district courts, proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), and appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. His technological expertise spans a wide array of areas, including consumer electronics, software architectures, semiconductors, quantum computing, machine learning, nanotechnology, wireless communications, signal processing, medical devices, and automotive electronics. He also has experience in patent prosecution for technologies involving complex mathematical, computational, and physics-based phenomena.

Schaffner demonstrates a balanced approach in his litigation practice, representing both plaintiffs and defendants. While his tracked appearance shows him representing FedEx Corporate Services, Inc. as plaintiff in a patent infringement lawsuit, his public profile indicates experience representing both petitioners and patent owners in PTAB proceedings, and he represented Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. as a defendant in a patent infringement action. This versatility suggests he works both sides of patent disputes for "innovative companies in complex, high-risk litigation."

His notable case work includes representing FedEx Corporate Services in a six-patent infringement lawsuit against Roambee Corporation concerning SenseAware products and services, a case that has involved related appeals to the Federal Circuit regarding PTAB decisions. He also represented Shure Incorporated as a plaintiff in a utility and design patent dispute that settled favorably, and secured a dismissal with prejudice for Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. in a patent infringement case. Schaffner is particularly active in post-grant proceedings, having represented clients in "dozens" of inter partes reviews (IPRs), covered business method reviews (CBMs), and post-grant reviews (PGRs) before the PTAB, including delivering arguments and advising on the strategic implications of co-pending district court actions. He has also represented SharkNinja in five IPRs related to robot vacuums.

Before his legal career, Schaffner worked as a scientist for Arete Associates, modeling remote sensing systems and developing optical algorithms. He gained valuable judicial insight as a law clerk at the Federal Circuit. Specific details regarding his law school and undergraduate degrees are not publicly sourced, though he undertook clinical work in patent prosecution during law school.