Nicholas D. Petrella is an associate at Finnegan. He focuses his practice on litigation, client counseling, and patent prosecution, primarily in computer and electrical technology areas. He draws on his experience working as a software engineer with startups as well as with an established industry innovator to counsel clients on patent strategy and portfolio development. Petrella has litigation experience in various federal district and appellate courts, California state court, and before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). He has counseled clients extensively on patent invalidity and has advised clients on legal issues related to the creation and use of open source software.