Brett Belden is a partner and registered patent attorney with Foley & Lardner LLP. Brett counsels clients on intellectual property matters, with an emphasis on patents relating to electronics and software. His experience includes patent acquisition and management, patent opinions, clearance and freedom-to-operate analyses, intellectual property due diligence, and intellectual property-related agreements.

A significant part of Brett’s practice focuses on helping clients protect innovations involving artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) across a wide variety of industries and technology areas. He helps clients identify and address issues unique to AI-related patenting and the use of AI in the inventive and patenting processes and has presented on such topics as AI-assisted inventorship. He also counsels clients on AI-related issues such as ownership and protection of model inputs and outputs and training data in the context of third-party collaborations, open-source considerations, trade secret protection, and clearance issues presented by evolving and adaptive AI systems.

Brett has significant experience developing and managing patent portfolios for companies ranging from early-stage startups to some of the world’s largest and most recognizable companies. He helps clients expand and improve established patent programs and build new programs from the ground up. Rather than applying a one-size-fits-all model, Brett works with each client to design a patent program tailored to its business, competitive environment, innovation pipeline, resources, and strategic objectives. As part of these efforts, Brett regularly leads invention harvesting and ideation sessions designed to help companies rapidly identify and develop intellectual property around forward-looking innovations that often become important future differentiators.

Brett’s electrical engineering and computer science background enables him to work directly with inventors and understand a wide variety of technologies. His experience spans:

• Artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), including generative AI, agentic systems, large language models, natural-language processing, computer vision, recommendation and personalization technologies, AI-assisted software development, and data center infrastructure and control technologies
• Financial technology, including retail and e-commerce, advertising and media, insurance, medical information management, and banking and payments
• Health care technologies, medical devices, medical imaging, and digital health systems
• Data analytics, data platforms, and automated decision systems
• Cloud, edge, hybrid, and distributing computing architectures
• Cybersecurity and encryption technologies
• Autonomous and connected systems, sensing technologies, vehicle electronics, and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)
• Building management, industrial automation, HVAC, and power generation technologies
• Semiconductor and microelectromechanical systems technologies

Brett’s technical background also includes professional experience with industrial automation for a national food production company.