Peighton Bruno
Peighton Bruno
Associate
Peighton is passionate about providing strategic guidance to clients, helping them protect and leverage their intellectual property (IP) to its highest potential in the U.S. and foreign jurisdictions.
Peighton has extensive experience developing comprehensive patent strategies and assisting inventors and businesses navigate the complexities of the patent process. She has successfully drafted and prosecuted design and utility patent applications across a diverse range of technologies and industries, delivering tailored solutions that align with the unique needs of each client.
In addition to patent prosecution work, Peighton conducts critical IP analyses, including freedom-to-operate, patentability, invalidity, and non-infringement assessments. She supports clients with IP diligence reviews in their preparation for acquiring, selling, or licensing valuable IP assets. Peighton draws on this comprehensive skill set to help clients navigate the full spectrum of IP-related legal issues.
Driven by a desire to continually expand her expertise in the evolving IP landscape, Peighton actively seeks opportunities to broaden her practice and continues to gain experience in other areas of IP law, including trademark law and technology transfer. This dedication enables her to offer well-rounded, forward-thinking counsel to clients.
With a passion for advancing innovation and supporting the success of her clients, Peighton is dedicated to delivering clear, practical solutions to her clients at every stage of their business cycle.
Representative Work
- Design patent procurement related to automobiles, consumer products, and medical devices.
- Design patent enforcement, including requests for removal of infringing products from e-commerce platforms in foreign jurisdictions such as China.
- Utility patent procurement related to mechanical, software, and electro-mechanical technologies as well as home and consumer products.
- IP portfolio management and monetization.
- Trademark procurement.
- Freedom-to-operate, invalidity, IP due diligence, non-infringement, patentability, and other patent analyses and opinions.

Industry Experience
Education
- J.D., University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law, Magna Cum Laude
- Intellectual Property Law Certificate
- Associate Editor, The University of New Hampshire Law Review
- B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Denver – Daniel Felix Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science
Admissions
- Colorado
- USPTO
Tricia Heckman
Tricia Heckman
Office Manager
Tricia joined the firm in 2021 and provides cross disciplinary support to all of our professionals and outside consultants. Her responsibilities include a variety of administrative, financial, clerical, facilities, legal, client relations, and organizational tasks that support the office.

Bob Nelson
Bob Nelson
Of Counsel
Bob is a patent attorney registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Bob is also licensed to practice law in Colorado and Massachusetts. Prior to entering the legal field, he worked as an engineer designing and developing radar systems. His practice focuses on intellectual property with an emphasis in the areas of patent and trademark counseling and procurement. Bob has drafted and prosecuted hundreds of patent applications in a wide range of technologies including semiconductors and semiconductor fabrication, imaging systems, medical devices, robotics, LED lighting, and others.

Education
- J.D., University of New Hampshire School of Law
- B.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Massachusetts
Admissions
- Colorado
Massachusetts
USPTO
Craig A. Neugeboren
Craig A. Neugeboren
Partner
Craig A. Neugeboren is the founder and a Senior Partner of Neugeboren O’Dowd PC. He started the firm after spending 15 years as a design engineer and as an attorney in both private practice and as in-house counsel for a multi-national publicly traded company. Craig is a patent attorney registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and is admitted to practice law in California and Colorado. He is also admitted to practice in many district and appeal courts throughout the country.
Representative Work
- Patent and trademark procurement and enforcement
- Litigation management
- Brand protection and overall IP enforcement
Recognitions
- IAM Global 1000 IP Law
- Colorado Super Lawyer
- 5280 Magazine Best of Denver
- Past Adjunct Professor at University of Colorado and University of Denver Schools of Law

Education
- J.D., Rutgers Law School
- B.S., University of Pennsylvania
Admissions
- Colorado Supreme Court
- California Supreme Court
- US District Court for the District of Colorado
- USPTO
Yoriko Morita
Yoriko Morita
Senior Patent Agent
Yoriko specializes in creating and executing tailored IP strategies for early stage hardware companies with complicated technologies. She started working in patent prosecution in 1996, became a U.S. Registered Patent Agent in 2001, and has been working with and within startups her entire legal career, including starting three companies of her own in the past.
Yoriko is also a Certified Licensing Professional, recognized by the Licensing Executives Society. She has native fluency in both English and Japanese, as well as extensive experience working and negotiating in Asia.
Representative Work
- Early-stage company IP strategy development
- Supporting corporate growth plans through IP work
Recognitions
- Founding Board Member, Glider (2017 – 2020)
- Member Board of Directors, KUNC and The Colorado Sound (2016 – 2019)
- Recognized in the IAM Strategy 300

Education
- Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (Optics), University of Colorado
- M.B.A., Business Administration, University of Colorado
- B.A., Physics, Lawrence University
Admissions
- Registered Patent Agent, USPTO
- Certified Licensing Professional (CLP)
Barbara Westphal
Barbara Westphal
Paralegal
Barbara is an accomplished paralegal with over a decade of experience in the intellectual property field. She plays a crucial role providing the structural support attorneys and agents require, ensuring clients receive top-notch service. She and the paralegal team handle the foundational issues that allow our attorneys to do what they do best. Barbara exemplifies professionalism and dedication. Our clients can rest assured that they are in very capable hands with an experienced team attuned to their specific needs.

Education
- Certified Patent Paralegal, IPlegalEd
- B.S., Business Administration, SUNY Empire State University
Steve Gruber
Steve Gruber
Partner
Steve’s best hours are spent in collaboration with innovators and founders digging into the physics, electronics, and algorithms behind foundational technologies. He has over 15 years of experience securing patents and trademarks and counseling clients on the most cost-effective ways to carve out market share, close an exit, or secure a next funding round with their IP. Where markets demand it, Steve prepares patent and trademark applications for the riggers of international protection and has lasting connections with skilled foreign attorneys in dozens of markets.
Steve presents a range of IP tools during initial meetings and helps clients select a combination providing the highest ROI. These include securing utility patents for core inventions, design patents on features that cross into the aesthetic identity of a product, and trademarks for brand names and logos. For those innovations and business secrets that are difficult to reverse engineer or enforce through traditional patent litigation, Steve helps companies wrap such innovations into their trade secret programs.
Steve and the team take immense pride in meticulously drafting compelling, multi-layered patent applications and internationally-focused claim sets. Many clients remark on his ability to quickly understand inventions and their broader importance in an industry and beyond, and craft claims that dissuade design arounds and copycats. He also identifies paths of safety in crowded patent spaces through clearance and freedom to operate searches and protects innovators and investors during M&A due diligence.
Representative Work
- Analyzed a renewable energy related patent portfolio and identified decision-changing risks as part of a $50 million M&A process
- Developed a global design patent portfolio for an industry-leading consumer products company
- Provided litigation support on repeated litigation efforts that secured market dominance for a consumer goods entity
- Synthesized coverage of competing patents to foster customer confidence for an optoelectronics developer

Education
- J.D., University of Denver – Sturm College of Law
- Giles Rich Moot Court
- M.S. Electrical Engineering – University of Colorado Boulder
- B.A., Physics/Engineering & History – Dartmouth College
Admissions
- Colorado
- USPTO
Shannon Gallagher
Shannon O. Gallagher
Paralegal
Shannon has a broad range of experience in both patents and trademarks and is involved in all stages of US and International patent and trademark filing, prosecution, and maintenance. A knowledgeable and responsive problem solver, she applies sound judgment to clients’ trademark and patent issues.
Shannon’s responsibilities include receiving and processing communications from the patent and trademark office, communicating with clients and foreign counsel, monitoring registrations and renewals, and conducting research and analysis relating to patent and trademark matters.

Industry Experience
Education
- B.S., Purdue University