As an internationally recognized premier boutique intellectual property firm, we work with some of the most innovate companies around the globe to protect and enforce their patent rights. We are efficient, experienced, and creative and we get things done. Our team is powered by a group of smart and aggressive professionals with diverse backgrounds. Our practitioners and attorneys are experienced in a wide range of technical disciplines, with many individuals holding advanced degrees in areas such as biological science, chemical engineering, and mechanical engineering.
Our team is well equipped to address the needs of clients, both domestically and internationally. Our skills are as different as our backgrounds. We are inventors. We are patent holders. We are board-certified in IP Law. We are multi-lingual. We are registered patent attorneys. We are former USPTO Examiners. We are outside Patent Counsel for both international and United States companies. We have the knowledge to anticipate your challenges, create innovative solutions, and develop a long-term strategy to effectively drive your goals. We deliver.
Maxey-Fisher actively promotes a culture that values its people and their uniqueness. We believe the best work is done in an environment that focuses on quality and professionalism. We foster creative thinkers. And we come together from varying ethnic, cultural, gender, and socio-economic backgrounds, countries, and experiences that enable us to bring differing perspectives to the table, strengthening every project we work on. By coloring outside the normal lines, we have exactly what it takes to procure and protect your creative assets.
Collectively, our team is consistently recognized locally, nationally, and internationally for our international property law experience. We hold leadership positions and chair various state and national committees across the country. Our team includes several published authors and experienced speakers who have made more than 50 appearances on university and business panels for everything IP related. In addition to multiple industry awards, we have been named Law Firm 500, World Trademark Review 1000, Leaders Today Tomorrow, Super Lawyers, Legal Elite, a Makers and Creators finalist, and have earned the Best Places to Work honor, to name a few.
We work with exceptional clients, and at Maxey-Fisher we like to empower each other to be even better. And we continue to seek new ways to do so in order to make your business even more successful. With an established reputation for our deep expertise in the world of patents, our diverse team can is committed to providing you with exceptional representation.
Justin Sanders is a registered patent attorney, based in Southern California, with 16+ years of experience assisting clients (primarily startups and small businesses) with all aspects of identifying, protecting and monetizing their intellectual property in both the U.S. and abroad, all at reasonable flat fee rates that are tailored to startup budgets. Those services include: performing various types of patent- and trademark-related searches (utilizing Covalent for many of the patent-related searches); preparing and prosecuting utility and design patent applications – both in the U.S. and abroad – covering a wide range of technologies and industries; preparing and prosecuting U.S. and international trademark and trade dress applications; attacking and defending trademark registrations before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board; rendering patent and trademark infringement and validity/invalidity opinions; obtaining U.S. copyright registrations; designing and implementing trade secret protection protocols; and negotiating and drafting a multitude of intellectual property and related business agreements.
Justin graduated from California State University, Long Beach, earning a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a minor in Human Resources Management. He went on to attend Whittier Law School as a Fellow in the Center for Intellectual Property Law, where he received his Juris Doctorate with magna cum laude honors, along with a Certificate in Intellectual Property Law.
In addition to servicing clients through his firm, Master Key IP, Justin is actively involved with a number of local universities and startup organizations, where he serves as a resource and mentor to resident entrepreneurs, providing guidance on various intellectual property issues.
Justin has also had the honor of being selected for inclusion in the Southern California Rising Stars list by Super Lawyers consecutively from 2013 to 2017, and again from 2019 to 2022 – a distinction only awarded to less than 2.5 percent of all attorneys in the state each year.
Steve Aycock has extensive experience preparing and prosecuting U.S., PCT, and foreign patent applications involving mobile applications (or “apps”), computer software and hardware, consumer products, mechanical devices, electrical, and business method related inventions. He has more than 17 years of experience practicing patent law and over 10 years of industry experience as an embedded software engineer with companies such as Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin.
Steve regularly prepares and files responses to office actions involving software and hardware applications. He has developed expertise in multiple client product lines and managed patent portfolios for product lines with numerous patent families having patent applications worldwide, including assigning and coordinating filing and prosecution of applications with foreign patent counsel. Steve also has experience performing research and analysis of various legal issues in support of patent litigation proceedings. He has prepared validity, infringement, patentability, and clearance/freedom-to-operate opinions.
Steve is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He received his Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from the University of South Florida in 1993 and his Juris Doctorate from George Washington University in 2007.
On the personal side, Steve is a licensed pilot and has 8 children. He lives in Florida with his wife and six kids still at home.