Diane van Leeuwen

Diane van Leeuwen is a Senior Associate at Brodkin Law, where she counsels startups and established technology companies on building and protecting their intellectual property. Drawing on a background in electrical engineering, she is comfortable working shoulder to shoulder with inventors on everything from semiconductor designs to connected devices and machine-learning systems, translating deeply technical work into patent claims that capture its real value.

Diane’s practice centers on patent preparation and prosecution before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, along with freedom-to-operate and clearance analysis for companies preparing to bring new products to market. She has guided numerous Silicon Valley startups through their first filings and helped growing companies develop portfolio strategies aligned with their funding milestones and competitive goals. Clients value her ability to explain complex options in plain terms and to keep prosecution moving efficiently toward allowance.

Before joining Brodkin Law, Diane worked as an engineer in the consumer electronics industry, an experience that continues to shape how she approaches invention disclosures and design-around strategy. She is a registered patent practitioner and an active member of the firm’s IP development and freedom-to-operate teams, and she frequently speaks with founder groups about protecting innovation in the earliest stages of a company’s life.