BENJAMIN I. EDLAVITCH
PATENT ATTORNEY
USPTO Reg. No. 57,142
Ben Edlavitch is a USPTO-registered patent attorney and strategic intellectual property advisor with more than 21 years of IP law experience and over 30 years of combined experience in technology, research and development, and intellectual property.
Ben brings a uniquely multidisciplinary technical background spanning software, electrical and computer engineering, and the life sciences. Before entering the legal profession, he worked in food science, medical research, and information technology, including leading the development of complex information systems for multiple companies.
Drawing on this experience, Ben helps inventors, entrepreneurs, startups, and established companies protect, develop, and strategically leverage their innovations and intellectual property.
Since 2005, Ben has prepared and prosecuted thousands of patent applications, the vast majority of which have resulted in issued patents. He also advises clients on international patent portfolios, IP litigation and disputes, trade secret protection, and trademark and copyright matters.
His broader practice includes counseling on complex commercial agreements and technology licensing, including advising on intellectual property ownership, open-source software, and the business and legal challenges facing technology companies, e-commerce businesses, and startups.
Ben is admitted to practice in Minnesota and Illinois and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. His experience includes practicing at prominent law firms Greenberg Traurig and Brinks Gilson & Lione, as well as serving as sole in-house counsel for an enterprise software company. For the past six years, he has operated his own intellectual property law practice.
As a solo practitioner, Ben has personally prepared more than 100 U.S. patent applications covering a broad range of technologies related to artificial intelligence, machine learning, quantum computing, bioinformatics, agricultural, e-commerce, neural networks, deep learning, fintech, telecommunications, computer hardware and software, computer vision, blockchain, cybersecurity, medical devices, MEMS, biosensors, semiconductors, power electronics, robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), telemedicine, gaming, and education.
Beyond his legal practice, Ben is an avid long-distance runner and an active volunteer attorney, speaker, startup mentor, and board member.
Education
Chicago-Kent College of Law
(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
Purdue University
(Graduate School Coursework in Electrical and Computer Engineering)
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)
Minnesota
Illinois
Example Volunteer Activities
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Volunteer Attorney at LegalCORPS
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President and board member of the Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame
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Startup Mentor at Minnesota Cup
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Startup Mentor at Cleantech Open
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Startup Mentor at Berkeley SkyDeck
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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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Provided assitance in a housing dispute 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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Twin Cities IEEE Computer Society: Software Patents (Presentations, April 2018, February 2024, March 2025)
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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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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)
