Michael O’Keefe is an experienced intellectual property attorney with over a decade of in-house legal experience preparing and prosecuting patent applications. Michael specializes in global patent portfolio management, application preparation and prosecution, freedom-to-operate (FTO) risk assessment, and enterprise IP strategy. He leverages his engineering foundation to align complex innovation harvesting and brand protection directly with fast-paced corporate business objectives.
Prior to joining Harrity & Harrity, Michael served as Team Lead Patent Attorney at International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation. In this role, he guided engineering, product development, and business stakeholders on IP strategy across critical corporate technology initiatives. His practice spanned a wide spectrum of software and advanced technologies, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, edge computing, cybersecurity, IoT, semiconductor manufacturing, and quantum computing. While at IBM, Michael also acted as IP Law Liaison to corporate patent committees, led pre-deal IP legal evaluations for M&A transactions, and supported post-deal asset integrations.
Michael specializes in managing multi-functional technical teams, serving as a strategic bridge between software development engineers, cross-functional invention committees, and executive leadership. Throughout his career, he has mentored entry-level attorneys and legal interns, driving rigorous standards in disclosure harvesting and patent prosecution.
Michael currently resides in Patterson, New York with his wife and children.
