Donald W. Banner, a specialist in intellectual property matters, is senior partner in the Washington law firm of Banner, Birch, McKie & Beckett. A fighter pilot in World War II, he studied electrical engineering at Purdue after the war and received his BSEE from Purdue in 1948. He studied law at the University of Detroit and patent law at The John Marshall Law School.

For four years Banner worked in the patent department of Square D Company. He then joined Borg-Warner where he spent 25 years and rose to the position of general patent counsel for the firm. He served as United States Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks in 1978 and 1979 and then was named Distinguished Professor of Law at The John Marshall Law School. At John Marshall he directed both the graduate school program in intellectual property law and the Center for Intellectual Property Law. In 1980 he became a partner in the law firm of Banner, Birch, McKie & Beckett.

An internationally recognized lecturer, writer, and editor, Banner was the first American to receive the Pacific Industrial Property Association's award for outstanding contributions to international cooperation in the intellectual property field. In 1984 he received the Jefferson Medal for outstanding contributions in the field of patent, trademark and copyright law. A member of Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu, Banner has been an Old Master at Purdue, is a distinguished alumnus of The John Marshall Law School, and has served as president of The Intellectual Property Owners, Inc.