Vance VanDrake

Vance is Co-Group Leader of Ulmer & Berne's Startups & Emerging Growth Companies Practice Group and an intellectual property, patent, trademark, and venture attorney. He is the author of The Patent Game (www.patentgame.co), a book written specifically for inventors, entrepreneurs, and business leaders that want to leverage patents as a key driver of business value. Vance brings a progressive and creative approach to the development of intellectual property and business strategy for emerging businesses and start-up companies. Vance helps his clients, including many angel and venture-backed companies, develop comprehensive strategies in a broad range of technologies including software, medical devices, and mechanical and electrical innovations. Vance assists his clients with all aspects of patent drafting and prosecution, trademark registration and clearance, and copyright and trade secret protection. His experience includes providing clients with patentability, validity, and infringement opinions, and serving various intellectual property litigation and regulatory (FDA) needs. Vance has worked in-house for a Fortune 500 company, has co-founded three start-up companies, and is an active angel investor. Vance is a frequent keynote speaker and mentor for universities, startup accelerators, incubators, and technology groups. He is a past President of the Greater Cincinnati Venture Association and was recognized as one of Cincinnati’s “Top 40 under 40” by the Cincinnati Business Courier. Specialties: venture companies, start-up companies, emerging businesses, angel funding, venture capital, creating intellectual property and business strategies, drafting patent applications, drafting freedom-to-practice opinions, drafting validity opinions, drafting patentability opinions, intellectual property management, trademark, copyright, trade secrets, small business intellectual property management, entrepreneurial intellectual property.