With five years of engineering experience and 10 years as a patent and trademark attorney, Derek Fahey brings to The Plus IP Firm extensive experience in providing legal counsel for intellectual property matters to small and medium sized businesses in various technology sectors, inventors, brand owners, and entrepreneurs all over the nation. His primary focus and experience are to protect and defend you, your business and your creative ideas.
Derek’s customer success speaks volumes. He has represented products that have been sold in Wal-Mart®, ideas featured in hit shows like Shark Tank,® ad-tech companies focusing on complex cryptographic solutions, and artillery solutions for the military.
Derek graduated from Florida State University magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and as member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. After obtaining his undergraduate university Derek worked with Schlumberger, an oilfield service provider, as a Field Engineer and then as a Senior Field Engineer, with a focus on electrical engineering and troubleshooting sophisticated electronic equipment. After leaving Schlumberger, Derek worked for Florida Power and Light as an Engineering Project Manager designing electrical infrastructure for commercial and residential projects. Derek attended Law School at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he specialized in intellectual property, worked at the University of Florida Office of Technology Licensing and graduated on the Dean’s List.
Derek was honored by his Rotary Club in 2017 when he was awarded Rotarian of the Year. He is frequently invited as a guest speaker on Intellectual Property Law, including patent law and trademark law.
Derek’s core values include providing exceptional customer service, exceeding client expectations and a relentless pursuit of development and innovating, and teamwork. These core values plus his knowledge and expertise, are what set him and The Plus IP Firm apart for others.
Prior to finding the Plus IP Firm with my partner, I worked as an Examiner at the United States Patent Office, attending and graduating from their Patent Academy program. As a Patent Examiner at the USPTO, I quickly progressed to a position where I handled a considerable caseload of patent applications from major companies such as IBM. My examination work covered a broad variety of technical fields including computer software, hardware, memory caching, data processing, and stochastic algorithms.
I received my Board Certification in Intellectual Property Law in 2007, forming part of the first class of lawyers given the privilege to do so. I subsequently served on the certification committee for 6 years, writing exams for certification as well as vetting applicants.
My experience as an Examiner at the USPTO allows me to provide my clients with the benefit of my direct experience examining patents and my unique understanding of what is likely to be accepted by the U.S. Patent office as well as how to improve the chances of registration through the presentation of the application.
Outside of my work as a board-certified patent attorney, I studied Astronomy at the University of Michigan, earning a B.S. in Physics and Mathematics. I spent some of my free time participating in various research activities, including particle physics research at Stanford University.
After university, I found myself working for a private company as a professional software engineer, developing computer code for Trident Systems in the north of Virginia.
Software development became a hobby of mine, and to date I continue to engage in the practice, utilizing a range of platforms including single board computers, microchips, and systems on chips.
When I am not writing code, I often contribute to the Florida Patent Lawyer blog, an acclaimed patent website.