Douglas A. Cherry

Board Certified in Intellectual Property Law, Doug is known for taking complex principles and making them understandable for his clients. His areas of concentration include intellectual property (patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, publicity rights and unfair competition) consulting, acquisition, licensing and litigation, as well as technology, cybersecurity and data breach law. Doug represents corporations, municipalities, non-profits, start-ups and entrepreneurs in a variety of industries, including technology, healthcare, law enforcement, and manufacturing.

Doug has extensive litigation and mediation experience involving high profile, corporate technology cases, patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret litigation.  He is a founding member of Shumaker’s Data Breach Team.  His background in computer consulting, fluency in many programming languages and his computer skills, including database and network management, expert systems, simulation design, and various software packages, enable him to effectively and efficiently assist his clients.

Always looking for practical business solutions for his clients in order to avoid high cost disputes, Doug routinely counsels clients on preventative measures.

In his work, Doug also focuses on technology law, including consulting clients and attorneys in data breach and cybersecurity issues, electronic discovery issues, domain name disputes, E-commerce agreements, technology implementation transactions, software performance disputes, employment/consultant agreements, and technology licensing. His intellectual property expertise allows him to assist clients in certain areas of general business law and entertainment law.

Doug is certified as an Intellectual Property Law Specialist by The Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education. Certification is the highest level of recognition by The Florida Bar of the competency and experience of attorneys in the area of Intellectual Property Law.

Doug has authored many articles on intellectual property, cybersecurity/data breach, and legal technology for various publications and has been interviewed on similar topics for several publications.

Representative Matters

• Represents a nationwide and international producer of dairy products regarding intellectual property protection and enforcement, as well as its technology and marketing-related transactional matters.
• Represents numerous software developers with regarding to technology licensing agreements.
• Represents a nationwide manufacturer and seller of drinkware products regarding intellectual property matters (transactional and litigation).
• Represents a nationwide manufacturer and seller of automotive wheels regarding intellectual property matters (transactional and litigation).
• Represents an official tourism marketing entity and provider of county tourism information regarding intellectual property matters (transactional and litigation).
• Represents a large regional real estate brokerage company regarding intellectual property and technology matters.
• Represents an e-commerce provider of medical products regarding intellectual property and technology matters.

Honors

• Florida Legal Elite by Florida Trend magazine, 2015, 2016
• AV^® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
• 2013 Top Rated Lawyer in Intellectual Property
• Florida Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers magazine, 2013 - 2018
• Best Lawyers in America, 2015 - 2019
• Florida Rising Star by Super Lawyers magazine, 2010
• 25 "People to Watch" by biz941 magazine, 2008
• C.L. McKaig Award in recognition of distinguished service to the Sarasota County Bar Association, 2004

Professional and Community Affiliations

• Bradenton Area Economic Development Corporation, Business Recruitment, Retention & Expansion (BR2E) Committee
• The Judge John M. Scheb American Inn of Court, President (2018 - 2019)
• Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County, Investor Relations Committee
• Sarasota County Bar Association, Immediate Past President
• Computer & Technology Law Committee of The Florida Bar, Past-Chair
• Intellectual Property Committee of The Florida Bar, Member
• Business Law Section (BLS) of The Florida Bar, Executive Council
• The Florida Bar BLS eDiscovery Committee, Past Chair
• The Florida Bar BLS Civil Rules Subcommittee on Electronic Discovery, Past Chair
• Florida Statewide E-Filing Committee and Records Workgroup, Past BLS Representative
• Suncoast Technology Forum, Past Director and Officer
• Sarasota County Bar Young Lawyers Division, Past-President
• Sarasota County Bar Technology Committee, Past-Chair
• Sarasota County Bar E-Filing Committee, Past-Chair
• Sarasota County Bar's monthly newspaper, The Docket, Past Editor, 2004-2005
• Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, Past Member of Small Business Council