Ben is a USPTO registered patent attorney and dedicated intellectual property law strategist with technical backgrounds in software, electrical and computer engineering, and the life sciences.
With 25 years of experience in the IT industry (including 8+ years as a computer information systems developer and 17+ years as an intellectual property law specialist), Ben advises clients regularly on complex commercial agreements and technology licenses. This includes counseling clients on open source software issues and other complex matters that occur in computing and e-commerce. Ben also provides domestic and international patent and trademark prosecution services for clients headquartered in the United States and abroad, and assists executives, in-house counsel and other lawyers with IP disputes and litigation. Furthermore, he advises on development of trade secret policies and assists with trademark and copyright registrations.
Ben is admitted to practice law in Minnesota and Illinois and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He has big law expertise and was an intellectual property attorney at the prestigious international law firms of Greenberg Traurig and Brinks Gilson & Lione as well as the sole in-house counsel for an enterprise software company prior to entering private practice.
In the last four years, Ben has prepared over one hundred U.S. patent applications. The applications describe innovations in e-commerce, telecommunications, and computer hardware and software. The applications also cover innovations in fintech, artificial intelligence, artificial neural networks (ANN), deep learning, computer vision, blockchain, cybersecurity, medical devices, MEMS, biosensors, semiconductors, power electronics (including solar power electronics), gemstone fabrication, electrophysiology technology, personal protective equipment, robotics, agriculture technology, automated driving systems, smart appliances, IoT, computer networking, telemedicine, wireless, digital media and gaming, mobile apps, and education technology. Also, over the past seventeen years, he has worked on over a thousand patent applications for individuals, startups, corporations and universities inventing in the fields of computer science, electrical and computer engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, biomedical engineering, and systems engineering as well as for teams innovating in signal processing, wireless communications, electronics, medical technology, semiconductors, farm and construction equipment, food processing, industrial instrumentation, control systems, and financial technologies. The great majority of the applications are now granted patents.
Education
(J.D., Dean's List)
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Editor of the Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property
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Editor of the Chicago-Kent Journal of International and Comparative Law
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CALI Award for academic excellence in Trade and Intellectual Property Rights
(M.S. Electrical and Computer Engineering, pending)
University of Illinois at Chicago
(B.S. Electrical Engineering, cum laude)
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Eta Kappa Nu (HKN) - Electrical Engineering Honors Society
University of California, Berkeley
(Certificate in Computer Information Systems, with Distinction)
Washington University in St. Louis
(B.S. Biology, Dean's List)
Bar and Court Admissions
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Example Volunteer Activities
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Mentor at Cleantech Open
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President of the Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame
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Lead discussions and seminars on intellectual property law and patent strategy as well as train engineers, scientists, physicians, and software developers on brainstorming techniques and invention harvesting
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Led presentations at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the Minnesota chapters of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE International)
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Volunteer attorney through Volunteer Lawyers Network (VLN)
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Provided pro bono immigration law services via the Legal Assistance Foundation (LAF)
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Tutored inner city high school students at Chicago’s Legal Prep Charter Academy
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Tutored math and science through the African American Academic Network at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)
Example Publications and Presentations
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SAE: Patent Law for Engineers (Presentation, Jan. 2020)
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INCOSE: Patent Law for Engineers (Presentation, Sept. 2018)
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TC IEEE COMPUTER SOCIETY: IP Protection (Presentation, April 2018)
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Open Source Software Licensing at the Office of Technology Management - University of Illinois (Presentation, Mar. 15, 2011)
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Coauthor of "A MEMS-based Vacuum Gauge for Measuring Pressure and Out-gassing Rates in Miniaturized Vacuum Microelectronic Devices" (International Vacuum Nanoelectronics Conference, 2010)
