About Don
Don Tiller moved from laboratory to courtroom. He began his academic career in physics at the University of Saskatchewan, earning a B.S. in Physics in 1991 and an M.S. in Electronuclear Physics in 1995. After several years that combined technical training and practical problem solving, he turned to law and received his J.D. from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in 2008. The path is not uncommon in patent law, but his long grounding in experimental and theoretical physics gives him a different vantage point from many lawyers.
His scientific background is more than a line on a resume. It shapes how he approaches patent prosecution and patent-related litigation. He is comfortable reading technical disclosure and talking directly with inventors and engineers. That fluency helps when drafting claims, preparing office action responses, or assembling the technical record that supports arguments on behalf of clients.
Tiller holds registration to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and is admitted to practice in Texas. He is also admitted to appear in the federal appellate courts listed for patent work, including the Fifth Circuit and the Federal Circuit, and he has credentials to address matters before the U.S. Supreme Court. That combination of patent-office practice and appellate admissions means he handles matters that start in prosecution and can extend into post-grant proceedings and appeals.
Over the course of his career he has worked on patent matters that touch on electronics and energy topics, areas that align with his earlier physics training. He prepares patent applications, advises on prosecution strategy, and evaluates patent portfolios from the perspective of enforceability and claim scope. He also prepares technical declarations and expert inputs when those documents are needed to support filings before the USPTO.
Outside case files, Tiller keeps professional ties through memberships in the IEEE, the American Bar Association, and the Tarrant County Bar Association. Those memberships reflect overlapping commitments to the technical fields and the legal profession. They also provide venues for staying current on both engineering developments and changing law.
He practices in Texas and maintains active registration at the Patent Office. His current practice centers on patent prosecution, advising clients on patentability and claim drafting, and handling appeals and proceedings that arise from patent-office decisions.
