Peter practices intellectual property law focusing on high-stakes patent litigation and post-grant proceedings. His work spans a variety of technologies, including medical devices, telecommunications, automotive technology, pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals, medical diagnostics, and energy.
Peter has extensive experience representing clients before the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), including frequently delivering successful oral arguments before Board panels. In a recent significant matter before the PTAB, Peter helped a client successfully fend off 17 IPRs challenging a key patent portfolio. Peter also uses his IPR experience to provide clients with creative strategies for leveraging PTAB proceedings in US District Court litigation. Peter has argued patent matters before US District Courts and the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.
In addition to post-grant proceedings and district court disputes, Peter helps clients with pre-acquisition due diligence, intellectual property licenses, and freedom to operate opinions. Recent examples include providing due diligence for a potential acquisition in the medical and diagnostics field, analyzing patent risks for a prospective new medical device, and helping negotiate licenses concerning CRISPR-Cas9 technology.
Before joining Carlson Caspers, Peter was a judicial extern for the Honorable Judge John Tunheim of the US District Court for the District of Minnesota.
Peter also works with the Children’s Law Center of Minnesota to represent and advocate for children in Minnesota foster care. Peter has repeatedly been named a “Rising Star” in Minnesota Super Lawyers®.
University of Minnesota Law School, JD, magna cum laude
Managing/Research Editor, Minnesota Law Review
University of Wisconsin, BS, Engineering Mechanics
Minnesota Supreme Court
US District Court for the District of Minnesota
Valensa and University of Illinois v. Cyanotech and Nutrex-Hawaii
We represented Valensa, an innovator in the extraction, stabilization, and delivery of botanical extracts, and the University of Illinois in a lawsuit brought against Cyanotech and Nutrex-Hawaii for infringement of a patent covering...
AGA Medical Corp. v. W.L. Gore & Assoc. / W.L. Gore & Assoc. v. AGA Medical Corp. and St. Jude...
Carlson Caspers litigated these two cases on behalf of AGA and St. Jude Medical, against its primary competitor in the U.S. market, W.L. Gore. The cases settled on favorable terms for AGA and...
SEC v. Jason Bo-Alan Beckman Et al.
Carlson Caspers is lead counsel for the Receiver in this $190 million Ponzi scheme. The firm was appointed by Chief Judge Davis of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota...
Carlson Caspers Partner Tara Norgard served as lead counsel for the Receiver, working with a team of Carlson Caspers attorneys, to repatriate assets in the $190 million Trevor Cook Ponzi scheme, the second-largest...
Our firm represented Teva, who was one of two first-filers, against charges of infringement of compound, polymorph and method patents relating to erlotinib (brand name Tarceva®) in this Hatch-Waxman Paragraph IV ANDA litigation....
Medtronic Inc. et al. v. Teleflex Life Sciences Ltd. (PTAB)
Carlson Caspers secured a key series of wins for Teleflex in a set of 17 inter partes review challenges filed by rival medical device maker Medtronic. Medtronic challenged seven Teleflex patents related to...
Speaking Engagements, Webinars, and Presentations
“Post-Grant Practice 8 Years In: The Continuing Importance of Procedure,” ACC-MN CLE,
June 19, 2020, Virtual
“The USPTO Post-Grant Landscape: Practical Tips and Strategies to Avoid Pitfalls,” The Knowledge Group Webcast, November 26, 2019.
Articles & Publications
ANDA Advisors Paragraph IV Litigation Blog, Carlson Caspers, contributor.
“When the Invention is an Inventor: Revitalizing Patentable Subject Matter to Exclude Unpredictable Processes,” Peter M. Kohlhepp, Note, 93 Minnesota Law Review 779 (2008).
“Gene Therapy Oversight: Lessons for Nanobiotechnology,” Susan M. Wolf, Rishi Gupta, and Peter Kohlhepp, 37 Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 659 (2009).
Best Lawyers®, 2025, Intellectual Property Litigation.
Minnesota Super Lawyers®