Chad is an experienced intellectual property (IP) attorney and Air Force veteran. Chad earned a Bachelor of Science from the United States Air Force Academy, then completed flight training to fly special-mission reconnaissance aircraft worldwide. After 10 years of service, Chad earned his law degree from Stanford Law School, where he studied IP law and edited the Stanford Law Review.
Following graduation, Chad began work at Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease in Cincinnati as a business litigation associate. After two years of large law firm experience, Chad joined his brother’s firm, Clark Business & Health Law, where he stood up his own intellectual property practice. Chad’s work included drafting utility patents, design patents and trademarks and shepherding them through the USPTO, as well as counseling biotech and healthcare businesses on IP strategy, licensing, research collaborations, and transactional agreements.
IP Strategy Experience
Chad’s work for one of his early biotech clients, Eccrine Systems, Inc., soon gained him a seat on the startup’s executive team as Vice President of Intellectual Property, where he developed the company’s IP strategy and drafted its patent applications. These covered a broad span of technologies, and included inventions related to physiology, DNA nucleotides, electrochemical sensing, electronics, and software. As Eccrine matured into a 55-person company, Chad became their general counsel. In that role, Chad managed the company’s legal operation, including corporate contracts, licensing, product launch, employment, HR, and corporate governance functions.
Chad joined the Martensen team in 2020, where he leverages his considerable background and experience on behalf of his clients. Chad’s practice focuses on IP law as well as government contracting and regulatory law. Additionally, Chad enjoys guiding emergent businesses through the highly competitive environments they must navigate. Chad’s counsel reflects both his deep understanding of the legal needs of innovative businesses as well as his lifelong commitment to excellence, attention to detail, and integrity.
Areas of Practice
- Patent Drafting and Prosecution
- Trademarks
- IP Strategy
- Licensing
- Contracts
Bar Admissions
- Supreme Court of Ohio, 2010
- United States Patent & Trademark Office, 2014
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Ohio
- Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit
- Supreme Court of Colorado, 2024
Certified Legal Specialties
Representative Publications
- How Can Patent Searches Foster Innovation?, February 2021
- Trade Secrets: Practical Considerations, August 2021
- What Does Your IP Strategy Say About Your Start-up?, October 2021
- Building a Ground-up Innovation Strategy, January 2022
- Open Source Software in Government Contracts, June 2022
Issued Patents
- D853,416S1: Display Screen or Portion Thereof with Graphical User Interface
- D914,719S1: Display Screen or Portion Thereof with Graphical User Interface
- D928,814S1: Display Screen or Portion Thereof with Graphical User Interface
- D937,459S1: Illuminated Beacon
- D964,833S1: Spray Paint Applicator
- US 9,867,539: Sweat Sensing Device Communication Security and Compliance
- US 10,136,831: Sweat Sensing with Chronological Assurance
- US 10,201,279: Sweat Sensing Device Communication Security and Compliance
- US 10,254,089: Firearm-Mounted Defense Spray Foregrip System
- US 10,258,262: Sweat Sensing Device Communication Security and Compliance
- US 10,405,794: Sweat Conductivity, Volumetric Sweat Rate, and Galvanic Skin Response Devices and Applications
- US 10,451,623: System for Chemiluminescence-Based Detection of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus
- US 10,485,460: Devices for Integrated Indirect Sweat Stimulation and Sensing
- US 10,506,968: Devices Capable of Fluid Sample Concentration for Extended Sensing of Analytes
- US 10,646,142: Smart Sweat Stimulation and Sensing Devices
- US 10,674,946: Sweat Sensing Devices with Sensor Abrasion Protection
