Benjamin A. Tramm

Partner
Minneapolis
150 South Fifth Street, Suite 2200
Minneapolis, MN 55402
D: 612.371.5234
Contact My Assistant
Andrea Endris
D: 612.371.5370

As an intellectual property attorney, Ben has experience in patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and enforcing intellectual property through litigation. He spends the majority of his time on his patent practice, which has two core areas of focus: protecting his clients' innovations through the strategic use of intellectual property, and helping clients evaluate potential infringement risks, bringing clarity to the business team so they can make informed decisions on managing those risks.

Ben currently serves as chair of Merchant & Gould’s electrical and software practice group. In addition to patent searching, preparation, and prosecution, Ben's experience includes patent reexamination, licensing, and opinions. He frequently works with lawyers around the world to secure international patent rights. With a thorough understanding of U.S. patent laws and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's rules and procedures, as well as a broad understanding of foreign patent laws, Ben is able to devise creative strategies and navigate unique situations for his clients.

His clients include individuals, startups, small to mid-sized companies, and large international corporations in diverse technical fields, including software, medical devices, wireless communication, e-commerce, electronics, mechanical devices, business methods, semiconductors, aerospace, magnetic media, and nanotechnology.

Ben's background is in electrical engineering and physics. Before practicing law, he worked for Medtronic, Inc., where he worked as an electrical and software design engineer in the wireless communication systems development team and in the quality assurance team. While at Medtronic, Ben designed and built computer automated test systems for testing implantable medical devices. While studying Electrical Engineering at the University of Minnesota, he was the team leader for the wireless communications team in the design of a solar-powered vehicle.

Ben serves as a volunteer lawyer for Legal Corps, a nonprofit that connects lawyers with microbusinesses and nonprofits that need legal representation, and for the Volunteer Lawyers Network, helping low-income individuals in need of legal help.

Ben is married with two children. He's a former triathlete, who now specializes in road bike racing with his team--West River Racing. He also enjoys spending time in the outdoors including hiking, hunting, and fishing.

Education

William Mitchell College of Law
J.D., cum laude, 2006

University of Minnesota, Institute of Technology
Bachelor of Electrical Engineering, 2002

Bethel University
B.A. Physics and Engineering, 2002

Admissions

Minnesota State Bar
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Professional Affiliations

Minnesota Intellectual Property Law Association
Minnesota State Bar Association

Publications & Speaking

Presentations

Presented The Demise of Steuben Foods’ Low Acid Aseptic Bottling Patent Monopoly, at Aseptipak Conference, September 25, 2018

Presented Steuben v. Nestle and the Battle Over the “Sweet Spot,” at Aseptipak Conference, June 21, 2017

Presented The America Invents Act: What every technology based company needs to know, MN High Tech Association (MHTA) Spring Conference, April 30, 2013

Intellectual Property—What A Business Leader Ought to Know, presented as part of the Strategic Technology Management course of Bethel University's MBA program, February 2012

Intellectual Property—What A Business Leader Ought to Know, presented as part of the Strategic Technology Management course of Bethel University's MBA program, September 2011

An Overview of Intellectual Property for Business Leaders, presented as part of the Strategic Technology Management course of Bethel University's MBA program, October 2010

An Overview of Intellectual Property for Business Leaders, presented as part of the Strategic Technology Management course of Bethel University's MBA program, May 2010

Intellectual Property, presented with Jarett Millar at the University of Minnesota's mechanical engineering senior design course, May 2010

Publications

Contributor, The Inventor’s Guide for Medical Technology: From Your Napkin to the Market, by Patrick Kullman, MBA, 2012

Bilski and Business Methods Pt. 2: Certainty and Uncertainty, BP/G Radio Podcast, July 23, 2010

Handling Ownership Issues For A Mutually Satisfying Collaboration, by Benjamin Tramm, MN Nano Newsletter, November 2009

Co-author of update to Intellectual Property Counseling and Litigation, Ch. 2, Drafting Patents with a View to Litigation, May 2009

Phoenix Solutions' Plasma Technology Enables Full-Scale Production of Nanoparticles, by Benjamin Tramm, MN Nano Newsletter, April 2009

OmegaGenesis Uses Nanotechnology to Promote Growth of New Blood Vessels, by Don Morrison, Benjamin Tramm, MN Nano Newsletter, January 2009

Sage Electrochromics Uses Nanomaterials to Improve Smart Window Technology, by Benjamin Tramm, MN Nano Newsletter, October 2008

Supreme Court Dictates Flexible Approach to Obviousness, by Tramm, Viswanathan and Kettelberger, Intellectual Property Today, p. 18-19, June 2007

Co-author of Patent Pros blog, the new, the useful, and the non-obvious for patent practitioners, August 2005 - November 2006


MEDIA CENTER

All Media
Articles
1/31/23
Benjamin Tramm Named Chair of Merchant & Gould’s Electrical and Software Practice Group
Merchant & Gould is pleased to announce that Minneapolis partner Benjamin Tramm has been named leader and chair of the firm’s Electrical and Software Practice Group, effective Jan. 1, 2023.  He replaces Andy Lagatta who chaired the Electrical ...
News Alerts
1/28/22
Merchant & Gould Congratulates Sheila Niaz as the Firm’s Pro Bono Award Winner
Merchant & Gould’s Pro Bono Committee announced the firm’s 2021 Pro Bono Awards to attorneys who have dedicated their time to helping their communities through pro bono legal services and their deep commitment. A special congratulations ...
Articles
8/10/18
Chainbreaker Charity Ride
Congratulations to Merchant & Gould’s team that participated in the 2nd annual Chainbreaker charity bike ride on Aug. 10, in support of life-saving cancer research at the University of Minnesota’s Masonic Cancer Center. The ride started in ...
Press Releases
1/5/15
Merchant & Gould Announces New Partners Tramm and Winemiller
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 ...
News Alerts
11/2/09
Handling Ownership Issues For A Mutually Satisfying Collaboration
Click here to read article
Articles
1/1/09
OmegaGenesis Uses Nanotechnology to Promote Growth of New Blood Vessels
Click here to read article co-authored by Benjamin Tramm
Articles
10/1/08
Sage Electrochromics Uses Nanomaterials to Improve Smart Window Technology
Click here to read article by Benjamin Tramm
White Papers
5/1/07
Supreme Court Dictates Flexible Approach To Obviousness
The United States Supreme Court issued this week a landmark decision that will have a significant impact on patent prosecution and litigation in the coming years. The unanimous court rejected the Federal Circuit's rigid application of the teaching-suggestion-motivation ...