Cecily O’Regan is a partner with Fishman Stewart. She is a registered patent attorney with over 25 years of experience in patent and intellectual property law. Cecily focuses her practice on securing worldwide intellectual property protection and related business strategies for emerging technology clients. She is a veteran Silicon Valley IP practitioner and has a passion for helping entrepreneurs identify their sustainable competitive advantage and create value in their business. Her areas of focus include medical devices, biometrics, software, and clean technologies.
As an entrepreneurial patent professional, Cecily combines legal, academic, and business credentials with her hands-on experience to provide strategic, market-focused patent portfolio development and intellectual property advice for clients. She also performs patent due diligence to assess patent portfolios for venture capital investment, mergers and acquisitions, and licensing opportunities. Cecily is a named inventor on eight issued patents and author on 12 patent publications in the medical device and software fields.
Cecily has taught various business classes and is a frequent speaker on intellectual property law. She has been a recommended practitioner on the annual IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Professionals list since 2022 and was recognized as a World Intellectual Property Review (WIPR) Leader in 2024.
Outside of work, Cecily is a frequent business plan competition judge and mentor to entrepreneurs and budding patent practitioners. She is a Past President of the Palo Alto University Rotary Club of Rotary International and spearheaded a crowd funding campaign to build a maternal health clinic in El Salvador.
Admissions
- California, Massachusetts, Washington DC, US Patent and Trademark Office, UK Solicitor
- Supreme Court of California
- District of Columbia, Court of Appeals
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
Community
- Previously Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurial Management and Entrepreneurial Law, University of San Francisco
- Past President, Palo Alto University Rotary Club of Rotary International
- Legal Services for Entrepreneurs (part of Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights) and Hastings Legal Garage – Perform pro bono patent work
- Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights – Perform pro bono work for asylum seeker
- Lead of IndieGogo Campaign, goal for building women’s health clinic in El Salvador
Published Works, Lectures, and Seminars
Presentation
Moderator, Protecting and Leveraging Innovation in the Life Sciences
October 10th, 2023
Presentation
Speaker, New Entrepreneur Training Program
May 17th, 2023
Presentation
Presenter, Intellectual Property Strategies for New Product Development
April 25th, 2023
Presentation
Presenter, Intellectual Property and Sustainable Technology
November 28th, 2022
Presentation
Presenter, International Jurisdiction and Privacy
August 28th, 2020
Presentation
Presenter, Select Legal Issues for Product Managers
April 10th, 2020
Presentation
Presenter, Intellectual Property Overview
April 10th, 2020
Publication
Intellectual Property: Overview and Strategies for Entrepreneurs
December 12th, 2017
Presentation
Panelist, Started from the Bottom – Now We’re Here
November 14th, 2017
Presentation
Presenter, Intellectual Property
November 19th, 2016
Presentation
Presenter, Intellectual Property: Understanding the Building Blocks of Silicon Valley,
December 4th, 2015
Presentation
Presenter, Intellectual Property: Understanding the Building Blocks of Silicon Valley
November 3rd, 2015
Presentation
Presenter, Intellectual Property Overview for Entrepreneurs
April 7th, 2015
Publication
Using GATT-TRIPs to improve Development Opportunities: A Proposal for Central America
Hastings Sci. & Tech. L.J. 7, 2015 · January 1st, 2015
Presentation
Presenter, Silicon Valley Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
March 5th, 2013
Presentation
Panelist, How to Protect Your Device and Company Against Counterfeit
October 30th, 2012
Presentation
Presenter, The Legal Side of Seed
February 29th, 2012
Presentation
Presenter, Understanding the Challenges and Opportunities for the Entrepreneur in the Current Economic Climate
October 4th, 2011
Presentation
Presenter, CREAME, Centro Integral de Servicios Empresariales
July 19th, 2011
Presentation
Presenter, Intellectual Property
July 12th, 2011
Presentation
Panelist, Challenges to Safeguarding Your Product in a Global Market
October 25th, 2010
Presentation
Moderator/Presenter, CREAME, Centro Integral de Servicios Empresariales
September 7th, 2010
Presentation
Presenter, Developing and Protecting a Valuable Medical Device Patent Portfolio
April 6th, 2010
Presentation
Presenter, Intellectual Property Overview for Entrepreneurs
November 3rd, 2009
Publication
Tips for Getting the Most out of a Bootstrapped IP Budget
VentureBeat · October 23rd, 2009
Presentation
Presenter, Intellectual Property Basics for Entrepreneurs
October 22nd, 2009
Presentation
Presenter, The 2009 Reform Act and Updates on Legislation
July 7th, 2009
Publication
Is Intellectual Property a Hurdle for Transferring Technology to Developing Countries? If so, How High of a Hurdle?
Hastings Sci. & Tech. L.J. 1, 2009 · January 1st, 2009
Publication
To Cite or Not to Cite-That is the Question: The Dilemma Faced by U.S. Patent Practitioners in the Wake of McKesson
CIPA Journal · January 28th, 2008
Publication
Can the United States Meet its Obligation to Protect Intellectual Property Rights Under the International GATT/TRIPs Agreement After the Florida Prepaid Cases?
35 USF L. Rev. 407, 2001 · January 1st, 2001
