Jonathan D’Silva

Assistant Professor of Clinical Law and Director of the Intellectual Property Law Clinic at Happy Valley LaunchBox

Jonathan D’Silva is the Director of the Intellectual Property Law Clinic located at the Happy Valley LaunchBox and an Assistant Professor of Law. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New York, Washington D.C., and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Jonathan is the founder and principal of his solo boutique Intellectual Property law firm MMI Intellectual Property located in Erie, Pennsylvania. Jonathan is global IP counsel for several multinational corporations as well as counsel for several universities, small businesses, inventors, and creatives at every stage of their development and of all ages.

When he’s not practicing law, he’s giving presentations and lectures on intellectual property to students and the public at various colleges, universities, and economic development organizations. Jonathan hosts a monthly Ask-Me-Anything: Intellectual Property through the Erie County Public Library. Jonathan is the Lead Curator of the volunteer group TEDxErie, an independently organized TED event, and the CEO and co-founder of The Urban Oasis Project, Inc, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that aims to brings fresh, regionally sourced foods to downtown Erie, solving the area’s deficit of affordable, healthy food options. Jonathan currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Erie County Bar Association and the Erie Regional Library Foundation and is the Vice President of the Board of the Purple Martin Conservation Association.

Prior to attending law school, Jonathan was a consulting engineer with the environmental engineering consulting firm Malcolm Pirnie, Inc out of their Buffalo Office working on evaluating and designing drinking water, wastewater, and municipal solid waste systems. He received his Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Biological Engineering (1998) and his Master of Engineering in Bio Engineering (1999) from Cornell University.