About
Jon Burbage
Registered patent attorney. Founder and owner of Burbage Law, PC.
Jon Burbage has practiced patent law for roughly twenty years. His current focus is artificial intelligence and automation: preparing and prosecuting patent applications for machine learning systems and for the automated systems built on top of them, together with portfolio management, patentability and freedom-to-operate analysis, intellectual property due diligence, and appeals to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
He came to law from engineering rather than the other way round. Before law school he worked in industry on robotics and circuit board repair, and he holds an associate degree in robotics alongside a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of South Carolina. He took his law degree at the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law with a patent law concentration, after intellectual property coursework at the Max Planck Institute in Munich.
Jon began his career as a patent attorney at Fenwick & West LLP in Silicon Valley, and later practiced at Maschoff Brennan and at Patent Law Works, where he helped grow the firm from three attorneys to thirty and recruited and mentored engineers out of Brigham Young University. He founded Burbage Law in 2015.
He is completing an Executive Master of Business Administration at the Brigham Young University Marriott School of Business, expected in 2028, to strengthen the finance, strategy and operations side of the counsel work he does for founder-led companies.
Technical areas
Where the work sits
The current focus is artificial intelligence and automation: machine learning models and the pipelines that train, serve and monitor them; agentic and workflow automation; process automation inside software systems; and the automated control and coordination of physical systems and fleets.
Around that core, the practice covers software architecture and computer systems, automotive and vehicular technology including micro-cloud and platooning systems, robotics, wireless communications, telephony and unified communications, databases and distributed systems, Internet-of-Things devices, video streaming, virtual reality, web analytics, search, and social applications. Design patents and mechanical subject matter where a client’s portfolio calls for them.
Representative portfolios
Companies whose patent work Jon has handled
Across Burbage Law and prior firms. Listing a company identifies work performed; it is not a statement that the company endorses the firm.
- Toyota
- YouTube
- Toyota InfoTechnology Center USA
- Taut AI
- SalesHood
- Pale Blue Earth
- Jaunt VR
- Grokker
- Progress Software
- ShoreTel
- Skullcandy
342 United States patents have issued from applications Jon Burbage wrote, 240 of them for Toyota companies and 48 for Jaunt VR. The full list, grouped by technology and linked to each patent, is on the Patents page.
From clients
What clients say about working with Jon.
I highly recommend Jon. He has been my trusted IP legal resource for over a decade. He understands how to translate complex technical innovations into broad, robust and defensible patent coverage and will strategically advise you on what to protect and what is best left as a trade secret.
Jon took the time to understand our technology and helped us secure patents for Meograph. He explained the tradeoffs clearly and shaped a practical strategy around our goals and budget. I especially appreciated his honesty about whether additional patent work would justify the investment.
One of Jon’s greatest strengths is the breadth of his knowledge of computer systems. He has a substantial understanding of both software and hardware, and what stands out to me is his ability to move intuitively between those layers when analyzing a problem. He can break down a complex technical issue, understand how its different components interact, and approach it from the perspective of the system as a whole rather than looking at any one component in isolation.
That range of knowledge, combined with his ability to analyze problems across multiple technical layers, is one of his strongest professional gifts.
Published with the permission of each person quoted. These statements do not constitute a guarantee, warranty, or prediction regarding the outcome of your legal matter.
Admissions and education
Credentials
Admissions
United States Patent and Trademark Office, Registration No. 69,665. Utah State Bar, No. 15456. State Bar of California, No. 266002.
Master of Business Administration
Brigham Young University Marriott School of Business, Executive MBA, expected 2028.
Juris Doctor
University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law, 2007. Patent law concentration.
Bachelor of Science
Engineering, University of South Carolina, 2004.
Associate of Science
Robotics, Spartanburg Community College, 1999.
Additional study
Intellectual property coursework, Max Planck Institute, Munich, 2005.