Attorney, professor, investor
Feras Mousilli
Intellectual property attorney, Fulbright professor and venture investor, helping founders protect what they build.
His story
About Feras
Feras Mousilli is an American attorney, intellectual property expert, professor and civil rights advocate. He is the managing partner of Mousilli Legal, an intellectual property and technology firm headquartered in San Francisco that advises companies from early startups to the Fortune 500, across the United States, Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Before Mousilli Legal he practised intellectual property litigation at DLA Piper as a registered U.S. patent attorney, served as Senior Corporate Counsel at Dell, and was then recruited by Apple as Senior Corporate Counsel for the Apple Watch and the MFi program.
He teaches as much as he practises. As a Fulbright Visiting Professor of Law and Entrepreneurship he teaches in Medellín, Colombia, and he has taught at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and lectured at the University of Texas School of Law, UC Berkeley and Istanbul University. Through Damask Ventures he backs early stage technology founders, especially in emerging markets.
Impact
What the work has meant for others
- Startups to Fortune 500
- Companies advised on patents, trademarks, copyright and trade secrets
- 4 continents
- Clients across the United States, Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East
- 17+ countries
- Covered by Dell's first global IP audit, which he led
- Ukraine and Colombia
- Law and entrepreneurship students taught as a visiting professor
The path
Along the way
- 1996 to 2001Biomedical engineering and computer science at Johns Hopkins University, then a master's in computer science engineering
- 2001 to 2003J.D., The University of Texas School of Law
- 2003 to 2006Attorney at DLA Piper in Austin: patent litigation and IP due diligence
- 2006 to 2014Senior Corporate Counsel at Dell, including leading Dell's first global IP audit
- 2014 to 2016Senior Corporate Counsel at Apple for the Apple Watch and the MFi program
- TodayManaging partner of Mousilli Legal, headquartered in San Francisco
- 2020 to 2023Visiting Professor, Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, Ukraine
- 2023 to todayFulbright Visiting Professor of Law and Entrepreneurship, University of Antioquia, Medellín
- 2025Speaker at SYNC in Damascus, his first return home in fifteen years
Distinctions
Recognition, received with thanks
Fulbright Visiting Professor
U.S. Department of State Fulbright grant, University of Antioquia, Medellín, since 2023
Texas Rising Star
Texas Super Lawyers, published by Texas Monthly, 2010
Judge Suzanne Covington Pro Bono Award
Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas
ACC National IP Committee, Education Chair
Association of Corporate Counsel, 2013
Dell General Counsel Gold Award
2013, with the Dell CFO Silver Award in 2011 and 2012
Registered U.S. Patent Attorney
Admitted to practise before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Ventures