Prior to founding Heimbecher & Assoc., LLC, Reed was a partner in the Intellectual Property practice group of a 700+ attorney, international law firm and was the Patent Practice Group Head for that firm's Colorado and Montana offices.  Before joining his prior law firm, Reed clerked for the Hon. Giles S. Rich of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Judge Rich was one of the primary drafters of the Patent Act and was often referred to as the "Dean of Patents."  Prior to his clerkship, Reed spent a few years as an attorney in the Los Angeles office of Lyon & Lyon, a highly-regarded intellectual property law firm.

Before attending law school, Reed worked as an aerospace engineer at General Dynamics/Convair Division where he carried out performance and aerodynamic analysis, and six-degrees-of-freedom trajectory simulations of Tomahawk cruise missiles and launch vehicles for putting payloads into outer space.  While at General Dynamics, Reed held a Department of Defense Secret clearance.

Admissions

Colorado
California (currently inactive)
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado and for the Central District of California

Representative Technologies

Reed has extensive experience drafting and prosecuting patent applications in the following primary areas:

• Medical Equipment
• Designer Window Coverings
• Package Design and Manufacture
• Internet and Computer Software/Hardware
• Business Methods
• Vacuum Technology
• Flight Control Equipment
• Sporting Equipment
• Fluid Handling Systems
• Automotive Mechanical Systems

Representative Litigation

Reed's litigation experience includes the following cases:

Huang v. Colson (Bd. Pat. App. & Inter.) (representing senior party as lead attorney in an interference concerning honeycomb insulating panels; priority awarded to client following preliminary motion phase)

Ex parte Colson & Swiszcz (Bd. Pat. App. & Inter.) (appealing final rejection of claims; all claims allowed following oral argument)

First Bank Systems, Inc. v. Frazzel (D. Colo.) (asserting service mark infringement, dilution, and unfair competition; settled before trial)

Arete Corporation v. Laser Products, Inc. (D. Colo.) (seeking declaratory judgment of patent invalidity, unenforceability, and noninfringement; settled before trial)

Hunter Douglas Architectural Products Inc. v. G.J.P Enterprises, Inc. (D. Md.) (asserting patent infringement; settled before trial)

International Communications Manufacturing Corporation v. Capewell Components Company L.P. (D. Colo.) (defending against patent infringement; settled before trial)

MacPike v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (N.D. Fla.) (defending against patent infringement; directed verdict for defendant after jury trial)

Education

University of California, Hastings College of the Law
J.D., 1991
Editor in Chief, Hastings Communications & Entertainment Law Journal, 1990-1991
American Jurisprudence Award, Trial Advocacy II
1066 Foundation Scholarship

University of Colorado, Boulder
B.S., Aerospace Engineering, 1985
Degree conferred with honors
Sigma Gamma Tau
Tau Beta Pi

Representative Presentations

"Practical Considerations in Formulating Patentability, Noninfringement, and Invalidity Opinions," American Bar Association, Section of Intellectual Property Law, April and October 2002

"Recent Trends in Patent Prosecution: Software & Business Methods," American Corporate Counsel Association, September 1999

Representative Legal Writings

Co-author, FCC Citator (2d ed.), 13 Hastings Comm/Ent L.J. 325 (1991)

Author, "Proposed Prior Art Legislation for Computer Program Patent Applications: Creating a Potential for Coexisting Patents," 13 Hastings Comm/Ent L.J. 57 (1990)

Professional Activities

• Member, American Intellectual Property Law Association
• Member, Federal Circuit Bar Association
• Member, American Bar Association, Section of Intellectual Property Law
• Member, Colorado Bar Association, Intellectual Property Section
• Member, Association of Former Law Clerks and Technical Advisors of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit