View the people of Withrow + Terranova by

Ben Frink

Patent Agent

Ben Frink

Patent Agent
Expertise
Control Systems
Materials
RF Electronics
Cellular Communications (4G, 5G)
Optics/Optical Communications
Power Systems
LED Lighting
Computers/Computer Systems
Analog/Digital Electronics
Wired/Wireless Networks
Semiconductors
Software
Bio

Before becoming a Registered Patent Agent, Mr. Frink was employed by the U.S. Army assisting with research for the Environmental Test Branch, Ft. Belvoir, Virginia.

He then returned to North Carolina where he taught electrical engineering at Southeastern Community College, and was a founder of Remote Data Systems, Inc., a North Carolina-based electronics manufacturing company specializing in design and manufacture of environmental monitoring equipment. 

While serving as President and chief technologist for Remote Data Systems, he worked extensively with ultra-wideband radar systems and remote sensing technology, and was the inventor of U.S. Patents 5,986,602 and 5,933,079. 

Prior to joining the firm of Withrow & Terranova, PLLC, Mr. Frink practiced with MacCord Mason, PLLC.

Education
B.S. - Electrical Engineering - North Carolina State University
Vcard

Ben Withrow

Partner

Ben Withrow

Partner
Expertise
Control Systems
MEMS
Encryption/Digital Security
Automotive
RF Electronics
Cellular Communications (4G, 5G)
Biomedical/Bioelectronics
Optics/Optical Communications
Power Systems
LED Lighting
Computers/Computer Systems
Analog/Digital Electronics
Wired/Wireless Networks
Semiconductors
Software
Bio

Ben Withrow is a founding member of Withrow & Terranova, PLLC, which was established in 2001. Mr. Withrow is a registered patent attorney whose intellectual property practice is focused on patents, and related licensing and litigation.

In particular, Mr. Withrow is heavily involved in patent preparation and prosecution in the areas of telecommunications, semiconductors, electronics, and software. During his career, he has written well over 500 original patent applications. In addition to his prosecution practice, Mr. Withrow has substantial post issuance (reissue and reexamination), licensing, and opinion practices and has significant litigation experience at both the trial and appellate court levels. 

In addition to working with complex technologies on a daily basis, Mr. Withrow brings a wealth of technical experience as a former research and development engineer to his patent practice. Prior to attending law school, Mr. Withrow was a senior hardware engineer at Eagle Research Corporation where he designed and developed analog and digital electronics for various industrial products. His educational and engineering tenure also included a significant amount of software development. 

On a daily basis, Mr. Withrow combines his extensive technical and legal experience to assist clients in maximizing the competitive advantage afforded by their intellectual property. 

Mr. Withrow is licensed to practice in North Carolina, before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and before various federal district and appellate courts.

Education
B.S. Electrical Engineering - West Virginia University Institute of Technology - summa cum laude
J.D. - Franklin Pierce Law Center - honors
Vcard

Benjamin Kusiak

Attorney

Benjamin Kusiak

Attorney

Bruce Owens

Attorney

Bruce Owens

Attorney
Expertise
Encryption/Digital Security
Software
Bio

Bruce Owens joined Withrow & Terranova as an associate in March 2012. Mr. Owens is a registered patent attorney whose practice includes patent preparation, prosecution, and litigation.

He has experience in technological areas including computer-implemented business methods, internet systems, telecommunications systems, and semiconductor devices. 

Mr. Owens also has been involved with conducting ex parte and inter partes patent reexaminations, preparing patent and trademark infringement opinions, and conducting trademark opposition proceedings. 

Prior to practicing intellectual property law, Mr. Owens worked as a software engineer for a number of technology firms and start-up companies in Raleigh, Greensboro, and Research Triangle Park, NC. 

Mr. Owens is a member of the North Carolina Bar, and is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in various federal district courts.

Education
B.S. - COMPUTER SCIENCE - LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY - MAGNA CUM LAUDE
J.D. - COLUMBIA LAW SCHOOL
Vcard

Chad Bevins

Partner

Chad Bevins

Partner
Expertise
Control Systems
Materials
MEMS
Encryption/Digital Security
RF Electronics
Cellular Communications (4G, 5G)
Computers/Computer Systems
Analog/Digital Electronics
Wired/Wireless Networks
Semiconductors
Software
Bio

Chad Bevins is a partner at Withrow & Terranova. Mr. Bevins joined Withrow & Terranova as a patent agent in June 2002 after completing his undergraduate studies at West Virginia University earning a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, summa cum laude, and a B.S. in Computer Engineering, summa cum laude.

Mr. Bevins earned his J.D. in 2007. Mr. Bevins specializes in the preparation and prosecution of domestic patent applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and International patent applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

During his time at Withrow & Terranova, Mr. Bevins has written nearly 500 hundreds of original patent applications. He is involved in patent preparation and prosecution in such diverse technological areas as radio frequency communications including cellular and wireless networking devices and systems, analog and digital circuitry and systems, semiconductor device design and fabrication, and software applications. Mr. Bevins also has substantial experience in trademark matters before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Mr. Bevins is licensed to practice law in the State of North Carolina and is a registered patent attorney before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Education
B.S. ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING - WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY - SUMMA CUM LAUDE
B.S. COMPUTER ENGINEERING - WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY - SUMMA CUM LAUDE
J.D. NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY - WITH HONORS
Vcard

Dennis Núñez

Attorney

Dennis Núñez

Attorney

Joe Agusta

Of Counsel

Joe Agusta

Of Counsel

Marc Macenko

Attorney

Marc Macenko

Attorney
Expertise
Encryption/Digital Security
RF Electronics
Cellular Communications (4G, 5G)
Biomedical/Bioelectronics
Power Systems
LED Lighting
Computers/Computer Systems
Analog/Digital Electronics
Wired/Wireless Networks
Semiconductors
Software
Bio

Marc Macenko joined Withrow & Terranova as an associate in August 2013 after completing his studies at University of North Carolina School of Law where he earned his Juris Doctor.

He earned his M.S. in Computer Science from Ohio University in 2006, focusing on computer vision and medical image analysis, especially MRI/CT imaging. 

He earned his M.S. in Computer Science from University of North Carolina in 2009, studying a wide variety of technologies such as sensor uncertainty measurements, advanced statistics, and medical image analysis, focusing this time on histology slide analysis. 

Prior to becoming a patent attorney, Mr. Macenko worked as a software engineer, researcher, and instructor for a number of colleges and startup companies in Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough, NC. 

Mr. Macenko is a member of the North Carolina Bar, and is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

Education
B.S. Computer Science - Ohio University
M.S. Computer Science - Ohio University
M.S. Computer Science - University of North Carolina
J.D. - University of North Carolina
Vcard

Neil Miles

Attorney

Neil Miles

Attorney
Expertise
MEMS
Encryption/Digital Security
LED Lighting
Computers/Computer Systems
Analog/Digital Electronics
Wired/Wireless Networks
Mechanical
Semiconductors
Software
Bio

Mr. Miles graduated with Great Distinction from Clarkson University, receiving a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and earned his law degree at North Carolina Central University.  Mr. Miles was a design and verification engineer for Application Specific Integrated Circuits in processors, memory controllers, and low-power System-On-Chip devices at IBM and Advanced Micro Devices, and also developed design automation software and telecommunications microcode for IBM.

Mr. Miles has been a registered patent attorney since 2005.  Prior to his work in patent prosecution, Mr. Miles also worked in-house at Research Triangle Institute and as a patent examiner at the USPTO.  In addition to prosecuting patents in the U.S. and foreign jurisdictions, for domestic and foreign clients, Mr. Miles’ experience includes patent preparation, prior art searching, and invalidity opinions. 

Education
B.S. - Clarkson University
J.D. - North Carolina Central University
Vcard

Phil Ammar

Attorney

Phil Ammar

Attorney

Shawn Pyles

Patent Agent

Shawn Pyles

Patent Agent
Expertise
Control Systems
Materials
MEMS
RF Electronics
Optics/Optical Communications
Power Systems
LED Lighting
Mechanical
Semiconductors
Bio

Mr. Pyles is a registered patent agent whose practice includes patent preparation, prosecution, and invalidity searching.

Prior to joining Withrow & Terranova, Mr. Pyles worked for over twenty one years at Cree Inc., where his most recent role was Director, Patents.  His early work included being part of the initial team of engineers and scientists working to develop and manufacture the company’s original nitride-based light-emitting diode products.  This included over nine years of experience in various engineering positions related to the epitaxial growth of group III-V nitride structures using metal organic chemical vapor deposition.  After engineering, he gained over twelve years of experience relating to patent portfolio management, patent litigation, and patent licensing for LEDs, LED lighting, and wide bandgap semiconductor switching technologies.  He is an inventor on four issued patents.

Mr. Pyles received a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from North Carolina State University.

Education
B.S. - Materials Science and Engineering - North Carolina State University
Vcard

Stephen Wang

Patent Agent

Stephen Wang

Patent Agent
Expertise
RF Electronics
Cellular Communications (4G, 5G)
Computers/Computer Systems
Analog/Digital Electronics
Wired/Wireless Networks
Bio

Before becoming a Registered Patent Agent at Withrow & Terranova, Mr. Wang served as director of product technology planning and director of research at HTC Corporation. Prior to joining HTC, Mr. Wang has held the positions of senior expert and distinguished member of technical staff at Sony Ericsson and Motorola.

Mr. Wang has extensive experiences in the research and development of mobile communication, mobile platform, mobile Internet, wireless broadband, and wireless multimedia systems. He was actively involved in the development of WLAN, WiMAX, and LTE technologies and received recognition from IEEE for making major technical contributions to a variety of wireless standards. Mr. Wang had 12 issued US patents and many pending patent applications around the world. 

Mr. Wang received a B.E. in Computer Engineering from Southwest Jiao Tong University in China, a M.S. in Telecommunications from Southern Methodist University in Texas, and a M.B.A. from University of Miami in Florida. 

Mr. Wang is a registered patent agent before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He is fluent in Chinese.

Education
B.E. - Computer Engineering - Southwest Jiao Tong University
M.S. - Telecommunications - Southern Methodist University
M.B.A. - University of Miami
Vcard

Steve Terranova

Partner

Steve Terranova

Partner
Expertise
Control Systems
Encryption/Digital Security
Biomedical/Bioelectronics
Optics/Optical Communications
Computers/Computer Systems
Analog/Digital Electronics
Wired/Wireless Networks
Mechanical
Semiconductors
Software
Bio

Steve Terranova is a founding member of Withrow & Terranova. Prior to forming Withrow & Terranova in 2001, Mr. Terranova was a patent attorney in private practice from 1999-2001. Mr. Terranova was General Patent Counsel and Assistant General Counsel of Gilbarco, Inc. from 1996-1999.

Prior to legal practice, Mr. Terranova worked as an engineer at Nortel Networks, General Electric, and Gilbarco. Mr. Terranova is also an inventor on over ten issued patents.

Mr. Terranova's expertise includes preparation and prosecution of patent and trademark applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), patent infringement and validity studies, patent reexamination and interference proceedings before the USPTO, patent pre-litigation analysis and litigation, contracts, and technology related transactions and licensing.

Mr. Terranova is admitted to practice law in the State of North Carolina and the District of Columbia and before various U.S. District Courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He is a registered patent attorney licensed to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. 

Mr. Terranova is a member of the Triangle Intellectual Property Law Association, American Bar Association, and the American Intellectual Property Law Association.

Education
B.S. Computer Engineering - North Carolina State University - with honors
J.D. North Carolina Central University - with honors
Vcard

Stu Wagner

Attorney

Stu Wagner

Attorney
Expertise
Materials
Encryption/Digital Security
RF Electronics
Cellular Communications (4G, 5G)
Optics/Optical Communications
Power Systems
LED Lighting
Computers/Computer Systems
Analog/Digital Electronics
Wired/Wireless Networks
Mechanical
Semiconductors
Software
Bio

Stu Wagner joined Withrow & Terranova in November 2017. Prior to joining, he worked as a patent attorney with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck in Denver, CO and as a litigation attorney with Irell & Manella in Newport Beach, CA.

Mr. Wagner earned his J.D. from Duke University School of Law in 2013, spending a semester as an intern for the Durham County District Attorney. He earned his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nevada Las Vegas in 2010, focusing his studies on semiconductors, optics, and power systems. While attending UNLV, Mr. Wagner worked as an electrical engineering designer for commercial and residential building power systems.

Drawing on patent prosecution and litigation experience, Mr. Wagner prepares and prosecutes patent applications across a broad range of technologies, including wired and wireless communications, signals processing, electronic sensors, software, and mechanical arts. He also has experience with patent portfolio analysis and has successfully defended clients during inter partes review.

Mr. Wagner is licensed to practice law in California and Colorado, and is a registered patent attorney before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Mr. Wagner is not currently licensed to practice law in North Carolina.

Education
B.S. - University of Nevada - Las Vegas
J.D. - Duke University
Vcard

Taylor Davenport

Partner

Taylor Davenport

Partner
Expertise
MEMS
RF Electronics
Cellular Communications (4G, 5G)
Optics/Optical Communications
Computers/Computer Systems
Analog/Digital Electronics
Wired/Wireless Networks
Semiconductors
Software
Bio

Mr. Davenport returned to Withrow & Terranova after serving as in-house counsel for Walker Digital Management, LLC, an invention laboratory in Stamford, CT.

From this experience and his over twelve years in private practice, Mr. Davenport brings a wealth of knowledge to assist his clients in identifying and developing a full spectrum of intellectual property including copyrights, patents and trademarks. 

While over half his work load is directed to patent preparation and prosecution, Mr. Davenport has extensive experience in copyrights, trademarks and opinion generation. Mr. Davenport is also experienced in working with individual and startup companies to identify and develop intellectual property within predefined budgets as well as managing large existing patent portfolios. 

Mr. Davenport is licensed to practice in Kentucky and North Carolina and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Education
B.S. Electrical Engineering -Duke University
B.A. Mathematics - Duke University
J.D. - Duke University
Vcard

Vincent Gustafson

Attorney

Vincent Gustafson

Attorney
Expertise
Materials
MEMS
Automotive
Chromatography
Microfluidics/Fluid Dynamics
Biomedical/Bioelectronics
Aerospace
Optics/Optical Communications
Power Systems
LED Lighting
Mechanical
Semiconductors
Bio

Prior to joining Withrow & Terranova, Vince Gustafson was in private practice from 1998-2001 and 2005-2014, where he gained experience in patent and trademark prosecution, in patent and trademark litigation at the trial and appellate levels, and in rendering legal opinions concerning validity, enforceability, and infringement of patents. From 2001-2005, Mr. Gustafson also served as in-house counsel for Nanostream, Inc., a manufacturer of high-throughput microfluidic analytical systems including micro-parallel liquid chromatographs, where he was responsible for all intellectual property issues.  

Mr. Gustafson’s domestic and international patent prosecution experience spans a variety of technical areas, including: lighting systems, wafer and microelectronic fabrication, semiconductor processing, circuits, sensors, transistors, instrumentation, consumer electronic devices, optoelectronic devices, storage and dispensation systems for high purity materials, bioprocessors, mixing systems, microfluidic devices, assay devices, diagnostic devices, chromatographs, mass spectrometers, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, fuel cells, Internet infrastructure, digital media copy prevention, free space laser optical communications, insecticides, and food processing. His prosecution experience extends to both utility and design patents. 

Mr. Gustafson has substantial experience in trademark prosecution and counseling, having been responsible for filing and prosecuting hundreds of domestic and foreign trademark applications. He has further represented numerous clients before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the USPTO in trademark opposition and cancellation matters. 

Mr. Gustafson is licensed to practice law in California and North Carolina, and is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office without territorial restriction. He was further licensed in California as a Professional Engineer (Mechanical) in 1996.

Before he practiced law, Mr. Gustafson held various engineering positions in electric power plants during both his undergraduate and law school education. Mr. Gustafson is also named an inventor in multiple patents as well as published and/or pending patent applications relating to diverse technologies including microfluidic devices, concentrated photovoltaic systems, consumer electronics, and adhesive bandages. He is a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association and the North Carolina Bar Association.

Education
B. S. Mechanical Engineering - University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)
J.D. - Loyola Law School
Vcard

Wenting Deng

Patent Agent

Wenting Deng

Patent Agent
Expertise
MEMS
RF Electronics
Cellular Communications (4G, 5G)
Biomedical/Bioelectronics
Power Systems
Computers/Computer Systems
Analog/Digital Electronics
Wired/Wireless Networks
Semiconductors
Software
Bio

Ms. Deng holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and a Bachelor of Microelectronics with a minor in Finance. She participated in several NASA and NIH projects during graduate school and possesses extensive research experience in both hardware and software design & development.

 Before she joined Withrow & Terranova, Ms. Deng worked as a litigation science advisor at Robins and Kaplan L.L.P for one and a half years. In particular, she was involved in a number of IP litigation cases in various areas of electric circuits, wireless communications, computer networking, microprocessor architectures, semiconductor devices, and software application development. She focused on technical analysis for patent infringement; prior art search and evaluation; and legal documents and exhibits preparation.

 In her current practice at Withrow & Terranova, Ms. Deng focuses on patent preparation and prosecution in electric circuits, semiconductor fabrication and packaging, and communication devices.

 Ms. Deng is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). She is fluent in Mandarin Chinese. 

Ms. Deng is a registered patent agent before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Education
Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering - Auburn University
M.S. in Electrical Engineering - Auburn University
B.S. in Microelectronics with a minor in Finance - Sichuan University
Vcard