OUR ATTORNEYS

Peter Brewer


Peter Brewer is a patent attorney who is licensed to practice law in Texas and Tennessee. Peter holds a B.S. degree in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University, and a law degree cum laude from South Texas College of Law in Houston. He is a former Briefing Attorney to the Supreme Court of Texas, where he worked on cases involving oil and gas rights.

Peter has written patent applications involving numerous aspects of “oil patch” technology.


  • geomechanical modeling
  • perforating guns
  • hydraulic jetting
  • steerable bottom hole assemblies
  • optimization of artificial lift systems
  • fracture relief valves
  • wellbore clean-out tools
  • drill bit design
  • well injectivity analysis
  • sand screens
  • inflatable packers
  • subsurface safety valves
  • maritime vessel designs
  • petroleum subsea architecture / hydrate management
  • downhole production tools and methods
  • expandable tubulars
  • gas lift valves
  • the pyrolysis of synthetic fuels

Peter has experience in the evaluation of patents and has been called upon to draft freedom-to-operate opinions, validity/invalidity opinions, patentability opinions and non-infringement opinions. Peter is a frequent speaker at seminars and conferences, and is the author of SPE Paper No. 74467-MS titled "Intellectual Property for the Oil Field." He presented this paper at an IADC/SPE Drilling Conference.

Peter attends various trade shows in the industry including the 2019 ATCE convention in Calgary, Alberta, and the Artificial Lift R&D Council meetings.

Peter is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Tennessee State Bar, the Knoxville Bar Association, the Houston Intellectual Property Law Association, and the State Bar of Texas Intellectual Property Law Association.

  • Registered Patent Attorney, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
  • Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering, Texas A&M University
  • Former production engineer with Gulf Oil E & P Company
  • Licensed to practice law in Tennessee and Texas
  • Licensed to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth, Sixth, Tenth and Federal Circuits
  • Member – Association of Intellectual Property Firms
  • Member – Society of Petroleum Engineers
  • Attends the Annual Meetings of the Association of Intellectual Property Firms
  • Listed in Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Intellectual Property Law (2008 to present)
  • Voted "Best Attorney" for Intellectual Property in Knoxville, Tennessee by Knoxville Bar Association, published in CityView magazine (2009 – 2011, 2015)
  • Listed since 2008 in Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Intellectual Property Law
  • President – Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association (2011)
  • Board Member – Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association Board of Directors (2008 to present)
  • Member – Houston Intellectual Property Law Association
  • Member – Tennessee Bar Association IP Section
  • Recipient – Baker Donelson's 2009 Knoxville Office Pro Bono Award
  • Briefing Attorney to the Supreme Court of Texas (1987 – 1988 Term)
  • Member – Professional Tennis Registry
  • Associate Editor –South Texas Law Review

Bernard S. “Ben” Klosowski, Jr.


Ben entered the practice of law after serving in the U.S. Navy as a Naval Flight Officer. During his naval service, Ben was an instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy, his alma mater. Following active duty and prior to becoming an intellectual property attorney, Ben managed an electro-optics engineering center and also worked as a program manager for a computer systems company.

Ben represents a variety of clients in various technical areas, including computer, electrical, mechanical, optical, and electro-mechanical arts. His clients include automotive, maritime, energy systems, metal and plastics fabrication, diagnostics, and medical device companies. Ben has drafted and filed numerous U.S. and international patent applications including those directed to software and electrical inventions relating to cellular telephone technology, programmable logic controllers, software to control lasers for real-time chemical analyses of pharmaceuticals and consumables, junction box controllers, fiber optic components, and upstream oil and gas technologies.

Ben has served as outside patent counsel for the world’s largest oil and gas service company. He has also prepared numerous patentability and patent infringement and validity opinions and other clearance opinions for his clients.

In addition to patents, Ben helps his clients protect their other intellectual properties such as copyrights, trademarks, trade dress, and trade secrets. Ben has litigated intellectual property and related business issues in federal and state courts and at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as well as domain name disputes via the National Arbitration Forum.

Jeremy M. Stipkala, PhD


Jeremy Stipkala’s practice focuses on the areas of patents, copyrights, corporate structuring, trademarks, and trade secrets. Dr. Stipkala is a registered patent attorney and provides patent and other legal services relating to chemistry, fuel cells, industrial hemp, medical devices, and mechanical inventions. Additionally, Dr. Stipkala manages Thrive IP®, a growing intellectual property law firm headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina.

Dr. Stipkala has spent his career helping clients protect their intellectual property. He has secured countless U.S. patents, and registered a number of trademarks and copyrights for his clients. Dr. Stipkala has also participated in several major litigations relating to intellectual property. Further, Dr. Stipkala has assisted deals for corporate clients in matters of angel and venture capital investment, provided corporate structuring to manage intellectual property assets, secured tax credit qualification to preserve capital and investments, and managed world-wide intellectual property.

Dr. Stipkala lectures frequently on U.S. intellectual property topics around the world, and has served on trade missions to Israel and Europe. He has served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law.

Dr. Stipkala has been admitted to the South Carolina Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, the Virginia Bar, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and he is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Dr. Stipkala attended Juniata College and Leeds University, England, where he graduated cum laude, earning his B.S. in Chemistry. He went on to earn his M.A. and Ph.D., both in Chemistry, from The Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Stipkala went on to attend The George Washington University Law School, where he graduated with High Honors.

Alexander J. Gambino


Alex Gambino is a Patent Agent. Alex drafts patent applications and assists with the prosecution of patent and trademark applications. Alex also assists with legal research projects, the writing of articles, and the drafting of litigation documents.

Alex received a degree in Marine Engineering from Texas A&M University Galveston, graduating Summa Cum Laude. He also holds a minor in Maritime Administration. Alex previously worked as a Technology Commercialization Analyst for the University of Tennessee Research Foundation where he reviewed technologies from the University of Tennessee system, performed patentability and prior art searches, evaluated marketing channels, and made recommendations for the commercialization and licensing of those technologies. He has also worked as a Nuclear Power Operations Engineer in Camden, New Jersey.

Alex has an interest in power systems and energy storage devices. He recently graduated Cum Laude from the University of Tennessee College of Law and is awaiting his bar examination results.