Peter L. Brewer, J.D.

Peter is a partner in the firm of Thrive IP®. He has over 20 years of experience as an intellectual property attorney and patent attorney. He has worked with Thrive IP® for four years.

Peter holds a degree in engineering from Texas A&M University. During law school he clerked for Shell Oil Company and for the prestigious law firm of Vinson & Elkins. Before attending law school he worked as a production engineer for Gulf Oil E&P in the Permian Basin.

Before working at Thrive IP®, Peter spent 14 years with a large, multi-office, full-service law firm based in the Southeast United States. There he obtained broad experience in the areas of patent law, trademark law, contracts and corporate due diligence. Prior to this position, Peter worked for a large, national IP boutique in their Houston, Texas office.

Over his career, Peter has written numerous patent applications for one of the world’s largest oilfield service companies, one of the country’s leading semiconductor equipment manufacturers, an international tool company, and the country’s largest E&P company. He provides pro bono service in the community by managing trademark portfolios for non-profit entities.

At Thrive IP® Peter primarily represents companies in the energy industry. These include companies that design turbines, batteries, and capacitors. These also include various service companies and R&D companies associated with the upstream oil and gas industry. Peter is one of only a few registered patent attorneys in the country who holds a degree in petroleum engineering.

Peter also provides patent and trademark services for healthcare companies, universities, and start-up companies. He serves as a mentor at the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center.
Peter attended law school in Texas. Following law school he was selected to serve as a Briefing Attorney to the Texas Supreme Court. He is a frequent speaker at CLE programs and SPE meetings. He has been on the Board of the Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association for over 10 years and is instrumental in the planning and implementation of two CLE programs for TIPLA each year.
Peter is also an active member in the Association of Intellectual Property Firms and serves on the Boutique Practice Committee. Peter is also the owner of the website www.energy-ip.com.

State Bar of Texas (1988)

Tennessee State Bar (1996)

E.D. of Texas

E.D. of Tennessee

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Texas A&M University, B.S. Engineering

South Texas College of Law Houston (cum laude)

Association of Intellectual Property Firms

Houston Intellectual Property Law Association

Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association

Tennessee Bar Association

Knoxville Bar Association

Briefing Attorney to the Supreme Court of Texas

Board Member – Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association (2006 to present)

Board Member –Association of Intellectual Property Firms (2020 to present)

Society of Petroleum Engineers

Attended the 2019 Annual Technical Conference (ATCE) for the Society of Petroleum Engineers in Calgary, Alberta

Attend the Annual Meeting of the Association of Intellectual Property Firms (2017 to present)

Attend the Semi-Annual CLE conferences for the Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association

Attended 2016 Spring AIPLA Meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Attended 2017 Winter AIPLA Meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Listed in Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Intellectual Property Law (2008 to present)

Voted “Best Attorney” for Intellectual Property and/or Trademark in Knoxville, Tennessee” by Knoxville Bar Association, published in CityView Magazine

Voted MidSouth Super Lawyer® (2020 and 2021)

Provide pro bono trademark and branding services to various non-profit entities in Tennessee

Recipient – Baker Donelson’s 2009 Knoxville Office Pro Bono Award

·CLE Speaker – “Bumping Into Your Own Prior Art,” State Bar of Texas IP Law Symposium, Houston, Texas (February 2020)

·CLE Panelist – “Managing the International Patent Portfolio,” 2019 Tennessee Intellectual Property Association CLE Program, Nashville, Tennessee (May, 2019)

·Author – “Energy and Patents in Houston,” published by the Houston Bar Association (December 2019)

·Guest Speaker – “Patents and the Energy Industry,” Society of Petroleum Engineers, Dallas Section Monthly Meeting, (March 2021)

·CLE Panelist – “Incorporating Pro Bono Into Your IP Practice,” 2018 AIPF Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois (September, 2018)·

·CLE Speaker – “Ethics and the OED,” Dallas Bar Association IP Section (April 2018)

·Quoted – “HOW COOL IS THAT!: Upstream Engineer-Patent Attorney,” Rigzone.com (January 5, 2018)

·Author – “Patents and Supreme Court Nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch,” iam Magazine (February 2017)

·Author – “Resurrecting the Value of the Opinion Letter,” iam Magazine (August 2016)

·Author – “Inventors to Feel Impact of Patent Law Changes,” Knoxville News Sentinel article (October 2011)

·Quoted – “Chattanooga Shale Becomes Tennessee Success Story,” The American Oil & Gas Reporter, p. 150 (June 2009)

·Author – “Who Owns the Invention? Addressing Ownership Claims of Employees and Contractors,” Tennessee Bar Journal (April 2006)

·Author – “Patent Infringement and the Duty of Due Care After Knorr-Bremse,” Intellectual Property Today, pp. 37-39 (August 2005)

·Author: “Intellectual Property for the Oilfield,” International Association of Drilling Contractors Symposium, SPE Paper No. 74467 (February 2002)

·Guest Speaker – “Patents and the Energy Industry,” Denver Section of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Denver, Colorado (December 2020)

·Webinar Moderator and Speaker – “Pricing of Services for the IP Boutique,” Association of Intellectual Property Firms, (October 2020)

·Webinar Presentation ̶ “Preparing For The Day That You Hope Will Never Come – Business Continuity Planning for the Law Firm,” Association of Intellectual Property Law Firms (March 2020)

·CLE Speaker ̶ “Bumping Into Your Own Prior Art,” 2020 Advanced Intellectual Property Law Symposium of the State Bar of Texas (February 2020)

·CLE Panelist ̶ “Economics of an IP Practice,” Spring 2018 Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association CLE Program (May 2018)

·CLE Speaker – “IP Issues Lurking in Your Contracts,” 2017 Corporate Counsel CLE Program for the Knoxville Bar Association (August 2017)

·Symposium Speaker – “Legal Issues for the Tennis Teaching Professional,” 2017 International Tennis Association Convention, Orlando, Florida (March 2017)

·CLE Speaker – “Intellectual Property Law Update,” 2015 Knoxville Bar Association Corporate Counsel Section CLE Program, (August 16, 2015)

·CLE Panelist – “Ethics and Intellectual Property, Spring 2016 Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association CLE Program, Nashville, Tennessee (May 2016)

·CLE Speaker – “Ethics and the Office of Enrollment and Discipline,” State Bar of Texas IP Law Symposium, Houston, Texas (March 2015)

·Symposium Speaker – “Legal Issues for the Tennis Teaching Professional,” PTR International Tennis Symposium, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina (February 2014 and February 2016)

·CLE Speaker – “IP Trolls and Treasure,” 2014 Knoxville Bar Association Intellectual Property CLE Program, Knoxville, Tennessee (August 2014)

·CLE Speaker – “What Does An IP Troll Look Like?”, Spring 2014 Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association CLE Program, Nashville, Tennessee (May 2014)

·Guest Speaker – “Intellectual Property Law for the Visual Artist,” East Tennessee Artists League, Athens, Tennessee (November 2013)

·Program Moderator – 2014 Knoxville Bar Association Corporate Counsel Section CLE Program, Knoxville, Tennessee (August 2013)

·Lecturer – “Intellectual Property Law for the Entrepreneur,” Memphis and Knoxville Business Incubators (2013)
Guest Speaker – “What Every Business Owner Should Know About Intellectual Property,” Knoxville Chamber of Commerce (May 2012)

·Guest Speaker – “Patents and the Energy Industry,” Texas A&M Energy Club, College Station, Texas (September 2011)

·CLE Speaker – “Ownership of Inventions,” Tennessee Bar Association statewide webcast (June 2011)

·CLE Panelist – “Inducement to Infringe a Patent,” Tennessee Bar Association Annual IP Symposium, Nashville, Tennessee (March 2011)

·Guest Speaker – “Patents and the Oil Patch,” Midland County Bar Association Monthly Meeting, Midland, Texas (October 2010)

·Guest Speaker – “Patents for the Energy Industry,” Appalachian Basin Society of Petroleum Engineers Monthly Meeting, Paintsville, Kentucky (September 2010)

·Guest Speaker – “10 Things Every Oil Company Should Know About Patents,” Tennessee Oil and Gas Association Annual Meeting, Knoxville, Tennessee (May 2009)

·CLE Speaker – “Intellectual Property Trends in the State of Tennessee,” 2008 Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association Conference, Nashville, Tennessee (November 2008)

·Guest Speaker – “Protecting the Inventor from Invention Service Companies,” Tennessee Inventors Association, Oak Ridge, Tennessee (August 2007)

·Seminar Speaker – “Intellectual Property for the Start-Up Business,” 2007 FedEx Business Plan Competition Seminar hosted by EmergeMemphis, Memphis, Tennessee (April 2007)

·Event Coordinator and Speaker – “Memphis Intellectual Property Lectures,” FedEx Institute of Technology, Memphis, Tennessee (February 2005)

·CLE Speaker – “The Utility of Opinions of Counsel After Knorr-Bremse,” 2005 Tennessee Bar Association IP Forum, Nashville, Tennessee (April 2005)

·CLE Speaker – “What is (and is not) Inequitable Conduct,” Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association, Nashville, Tennessee (Fall 2004)

·CLE Speaker: – “Commercial Use Issues in Patent Infringement Litigation,” 42nd Annual Intellectual Property Seminar, Dallas, Texas (Fall 2004)

·Technical Speaker – “The Interpretation of Claims in a United States Patent,” Innovation Issues Seminar Sponsored by the Technology Licensing Office of The Texas A&M University System, College Station, Texas (Spring 2004)

·CLE Speaker – “Right of Publicity Law in Tennessee,” Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association, Knoxville, Tennessee (Fall 2003)

·Technical Speaker – “Intellectual Property for the Oilfield,” International Association of Drilling Contractors Convention, Dallas, Texas (February 2002)

·Numerous in-house CLE presentations concerning patent law, trademark law and copyright law at Moser, Patterson & Sheridan, LLP, Houston, Texas and at Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC in Knoxville, Tennessee