Merchant & Gould, a leading intellectual property law firm, announced that attorneys Ben Tramm of Minneapolis and John Winemiller of Knoxville were named Equity Partners, effective January 1, 2015.

Tramm, a graduate of William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, concentrates his practice in patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and litigation. He also frequently works with lawyers around the world to secure international patent rights. Tramm’s background is in electrical engineering and physics. Before practicing law, he worked for Medtronic, Inc. as an electrical and software design engineer.

A summa cum laude graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, where he served as Editor in Chief of the Tennessee Law Review, Winemiller is a member of Merchant & Gould's litigation team. Prior to becoming a lawyer, he received an M.A. and Ph.D. in music history and theory from the University of Chicago, where he taught before joining the faculty of the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

“Ben and John have proved themselves to be excellent attorneys, and we are pleased to call them “partner” at Merchant & Gould,” said Brian Batzli, Managing Director and CEO of Merchant & Gould. “They provide stellar service to their clients, as I am sure they will for years to come”