About Yixin
Yixin Zhang combined technical training and later legal education to build a practice anchored in patent law. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from the University of Toronto in 1999. After several years that bridged technology and law, she returned to school and received her J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law in 2010.
Her technical background preceded her legal training and shaped the areas she would pursue. She is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and also admitted in California. That combination allowed her to move into patent prosecution and other intellectual property matters where understanding both code and circuitry matters.
Zhang is an attorney at Fenwick & West LLP. At the firm she has worked on patent-related work for clients in technology sectors, handling prosecution and related counseling. Her practice draws on an engineering education and years of experience applying patent law to software and hardware innovations. Colleagues say she brings a methodical approach to claim drafting and prior-art analysis. She balances technical detail with attention to legal strategy.
Clients who come to her typically face issues around protecting inventions, preparing patent applications, and responding to office actions at the USPTO. She has navigated the procedural steps that follow initial filing, including substantive responses and amendments. Her registration before the USPTO enables her to appear on behalf of inventors in prosecution proceedings.
Her legal training at Santa Clara exposed her to Silicon Valley’s patent landscape. That background informs how she evaluates filing strategies and timelines for clients that develop software, consumer electronics, and related systems. Having earned an engineering degree in Toronto, she also understands product development cycles and how engineering teams document innovation.
Outside the office, she has remained connected to technical communities and patent practice developments. She follows changes in patent eligibility and prosecution practice that affect how inventions are characterized in applications. That awareness guides her work drafting claims and advising on the scope of protection available under current law.
Her practice blends patent prosecution and IP counseling, aimed at helping clients protect inventions and manage patent portfolios. She currently focuses her practice on patent prosecution and intellectual property counseling for technology companies.
