Darnell M. Cage

Darnell utilizes his corporate and technical experience to counsel clients through assessing, protecting and leveraging intellectual property issues in various industries, including technology, automotive, life sciences and medical devices, and consumer products and retail. His people-focused approach enables him to best help his clients — Darnell learns what is most important to their businesses and uses that knowledge to solve their most complex problems.

Patents

Darnell is regularly involved in patent preparation. He drafts patent applications for U.S. and international and foreign entities who range from Fortune 500 companies to individuals and smaller businesses. In addition to drafting these applications, Darnell sees them from the filing phase — working with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) — through to prosecution.

Darnell assists clients with building out their patent portfolios, particularly those who have existing portfolios and who are trying to expand into other areas of expertise. He is also adept at developing global filing strategies for his clients and can counsel on nuances in different jurisdictions.

Intellectual Property Strategy

Integrating into his clients’ day-to-day helps Darnell truly understand their business practices and procedures. He frequently meets with in-house counsel, research and development teams, and engineers so that he can continue to learn and then educate on streamlining their processes and internal strategies. This approach allows him to effectively counsel clients.

Darnell considers himself to be an extension of his clients’ legal teams — in this role he frequently performs competitive analyses and consistently researches competitors’ patents. This research includes freedom-to-operate analyses (what doesn’t a competitor’s patent cover and what are clients able to file on and still stay within legal bounds?). In the same vein, Darnell assists clients in obtaining clearance to file patents in congested spaces..

This approach helps Darnell to best prepare patent infringement defenses and prepare defensive publications.

Tech Transactions

Darnell also counsels companies on intellectual property licensing agreements, including confidentiality agreements to protect clients’ proprietary information, joint development agreements, business-to-business transactions, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) agreements.

Litigation Support

Darnell frequently assists on cross-disciplinary firm teams in an intellectual property litigation capacity. He examines assertive patents, analyzes the validity of claims, and participates in the discovery phase. He is a go-to authority for his colleagues on everything patents, so he is a key resource across the firm.

Prior Experience

Prior to his time with Faegre Drinker, Darnell worked for a Minneapolis-based law firm as an attorney in their intellectual property and patent group, focusing his work on mechanical, electrical, life sciences and software patents. He was responsible for preparing and prosecuting patent applications; assessing patentability, invalidity and freedom to operate; and drafting IP agreements, including assignment, licensing, SaaS, service, and confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements.

Before entering the patent profession, Darnell also worked with Boeing as both an engineer and senior paralegal. As an engineer, he performed thermodynamic and structural analysis on defense and aerospace products, ranging from individual components to large aerospace structures for secret military and commercial programs for the United States and its allies. As a mid-level engineer, Darnell was proficient in complex finite element analysis and models, oversaw adherence of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and supplier parts to military standards and statements of work, and dispositioned of salvageable and nonconformance aircraft parts. As a paralegal, he used his structural and thermal analyst experience to assist senior counsel in various aspects of government contracts as both a primary contractor and subcontractor, program management, supply chain agreements, corporate governance and investigations, freedom of information act requests, and developing a cross-functional IP strategy for one of Boeing’s largest defense businesses. To aid in this work, Darnell successfully completed contracts and acquisition training programs facilitated by the U.S. General Services Administration, including training in Federal Acquisition Regulations and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations.

Darnell also worked as an intellectual property extern with a mid-sized, multipractice firm and a global technology, engineering and software company that provides industrial automation equipment, climate control systems and measurement instruments.

During his stint at Boeing, Darnell had a unique role in the Chief of Staff office where he was in direct support of a chief executive for one of the largest divisions in the company where he executed executive priorities, strategic initiatives, and cross-functional coordination. Before Boeing, Darnell interned as a flight test engineer for fighter jet engines where he directly supported manufacturing in support of test objectives and conformance of the engines and testing to government contracts. Throughout much of his academic career, Darnell has participated in numerous grant-based research programs, culminating in numerous presentations and an undergraduate thesis based on years of lab tests and construction of numerical models for cryopreservation of biological materials.

Faculty Positions

• Mitchell Hamline School of Law — Adjunct Professor, USPTO National Patent Application Drafting Competition, 2019
• University of St. Thomas School of Law — Adjunct Professor, USPTO National Patent Application Drafting Competition, 2020-25 (National Champions in 2020)
  Learn more about the University of St. Thomas School of Law's success in the USPTO National Patent Application Drafting Competition here.

Personal Interests

You can frequently find Darnell on panels sharing his experience in intellectual property, working at a law firm, and on neurodiversity.

Beyond his professional endeavors, Darnell has a wide array of personal passions that enrich his perspective and approach. A lifelong fan of professional wrestling, he appreciates the storytelling and strategy behind the sport. As a dedicated coach and community advocate, he invests his time in fostering social impact — driving significant and positive changes that address social injustices and challenges. Darnell's curiosity extends to theology, history, puzzles and traveling, as he enjoys exploring faith, the past, solving complex challenges, and experiencing the richness of diverse cultures. A culinary enthusiast, he relishes the art of cooking and creating memorable dining experiences. An avid film enthusiast, he eagerly anticipates Oscar-nominated films each year, savoring the artistry and storytelling that define cinema’s finest achievements.