About Sheila Gibson
Education
J.D., University of Southern California School of Law, 2002
USC Law Scholarship; Editor-in-Chief of Interdisciplinary Law Journal; Federal Circuit Bar Association Writing Competition
B.S., University of California, Los Angeles, 1996
Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, Business and Administration
National Science Foundation Scholar; UCLA Latina Alumni Scholar
Bar Admissions
Alaska
California
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Professional History
Founder, Aura IP Law, PC
Partner, Hahn Loeser and Parks LLP
Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Senior Associate, Sonnenschein Nath and Rosenthal LLP
Associate, Knobbe Martens Olson and Bear LLP
Sheila R. Gibson is the founder of Aura IP Law, PC. She has over 20 years experience practicing intellectual property (IP) law including at a nationally recognized IP boutique and at several top-tier law firms prior to starting Aura IP Law. She has worked with clients in many different industries, including biotech, life science, medical device, pharmaceutical, agriculture, food packaging, green technology, mechanical, sports innovation, personal accessories, cosmetics, beverages, and more. Sheila has counseled clients from the research and development stage to startups to small- and medium-sized businesses to large, publicly traded companies. She has advised her clients in all aspects of IP, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, branding, licensing, IP transactions, IP agreements, opinion work, due diligence, and product launch.
Having always been passionate about the treatment of diseases but feeling drawn toward a career in business she worked in the biotech industry prior to attending law school and pursuing a career in IP. Thus, she brings a unique combination of strong science and IP experience with a solid understanding of her clients’ business needs. Rather than tackling her clients’ IP objectives in a vacuum, she uses her clients’ business objectives and considerations to guide her IP strategy and recommendations in order to achieve her clients’ goals.
In addition, having received exposure to all aspects of intellectual property including some of the most complex prosecution, litigation, and transnational issues, she learned to approach each matter with big-picture thinking that includes an eye toward global strategy and avoiding possible future pitfalls and/or litigation. Thus, her approach to her clients’ matters is multi-faceted with each facet of every legal issue receiving her careful attention and scrutiny.
She uses her unique skill set and approach to provide efficient and tailored legal services for her clients.
What’s in a name?
Every brand should tell a story, and here’s ours.
Typically, law firms have gone by the founders' last names. In starting my own firm, I wanted different things than I’ve encountered in big law and that started with one of my very first decisions: the name of the firm. I wanted to give a nod to my dad, who, as an entrepreneur himself, gave me the tools to succeed in my new role as an entrepreneur. My dad was a very talented printer and when I was young he began a side business--Arriola Printing Services. He had saved up enough money to purchase a small printing press and a light table and printed in our garage every day after work.
The surname Arriola is similar to the Spanish word “aureola” which translates to “aura.” Aura is defined as “the distinctive atmosphere or quality that seems to surround and be generated by a person, thing or place.” When I thought about the word “aura” in terms of an IP law firm, I quickly realized that intellectual property, in particular the brand of a business, is the aura of that business and as an IP attorney, I am protecting that aura.
From there I looked at aura colors and meanings. The yellow aura symbolizes intellect and ideas; a true inventor and innovator. Yellow aura personalities are committed, hardworking and have an ability to learn and a love for study. The green aura symbolizes health, healing, and renewal and is radiated when undergoing a change or transformation and moving onto something better. Green aura personalities are typically very organized and efficient. And the red aura symbolizes courage, strength, and vitality, and indicates the will power necessary to ensure success. Red aura personalities are grounded and centered, passionate about what they are doing, and give 100% in everything. They are direct, to the point, and have no agenda or ulterior motive.
And thus, Aura IP Law, PC was born!
What’s in a logo?
In designing the logo, I wanted something that reflected both the firm name and the journey that led to Aura IP Law, PC. The circle is the aura around the firm.
The double helix DNA represents my journey into and career in intellectual property law. My interest in genetics began when I was 13 years old with the birth of my identical twin brothers. That interest was heightened when at 16 I learned that I had a different blood type than my parents and I had questions! The answers to those questions were found in genetics. Thankfully, my high school biology teacher not only answered my questions, but recognized an innate curiosity and helped me obtain a National Science Foundation grant to do research in a molecular biology lab at California State University Long Beach during my senior year of high school. From there I went on to earn a degree in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from University of California, Los Angeles, which allowed me to sit for the patent bar and become a patent attorney following law school. Given that my technical expertise for patents is life sciences/biotech, the double helix on the left is a very large part of Aura IP Law, PC.
The leaves represent my journey from life sciences into agriculture.
The logo orientation was selected because it resembles the caduceus (the symbol of medicine) with the chakras opening up on top. The yellow in our logo represents the yellow aura. Individuals with this color aura are intelligent, creative, and good at solving problems and innovating, like our clients! The green aura is a symbol of growth, renewal, balance, and healing and represents the industries we service. Finally, the splash of red on the right is the red aura, grounding the logo and the firm. Our firm logo holds so much meaning on many levels!