Michelle Dawson

Michelle Dawson is a Co-Founder of Padmanabhan & Dawson, PLLC, where she focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation. Her work spans various technology sectors, with notable experience in cases involving vehicle identification systems, ridesharing technology, and computer software and hardware. The firm's practice also encompasses mechanical, pharmaceutical, and other technology disputes. While her firm describes itself as a leading boutique in plaintiff-side intellectual property litigation and represents both plaintiffs and defendants, Michelle Dawson's tracked appearances primarily involve defending operating companies.

Ms. Dawson frequently appears in Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) proceedings. She served as Lead Counsel for Rideshare Displays Inc. in significant inter partes review (IPR) proceedings challenged by Unified Patents and Lyft, Inc.. This series of cases culminated in appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In Rideshare Displays, Inc. v. Lyft, Inc. (Fed. Cir. Sept. 29, 2025), the Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB's findings that certain patent claims were unpatentable for obviousness but reversed the Board's allowance of substitute claims, deeming them patent-ineligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The Federal Circuit also notably declined to adopt the USPTO's 2019 subject matter eligibility guidance in this ruling.

Ms. Dawson is admitted to practice in Minnesota, before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and several U.S. District Courts, including the District of Minnesota, the Eastern District of Texas, and the Eastern District of Michigan. She earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School, where she was also a winner of the Giles S. Rich National Intellectual Property Moot Court Competition. She holds a B.A. and M.S. from the University of Minnesota.