William M. Atkinson

• Five years as a patent examiner in the chemical arts
• Two years as law clerk to The Honorable Glenn L. Archer, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• Member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association and the Federal Circuit Bar Association
• Federal Mediator
• Federal Special Master
• AAA Arbitrator 

Bill Atkinson is a retired partner in the Intellectual Property Litigation Group whose primary focus is client counseling, opinion work and litigation. He has more than 30 years of experience in patent law. Bill counsels numerous clients on how to avoid and minimize patent issues in their business, and then defends them if issues become a dispute. His clients range from multinational, multidisciplinary companies to major retail chains to small business concerns. His work focuses on studying and managing patent risks through in-depth patent analysis, innovative product and process design, prior art studies and licensing. Bill spent five years as a patent examiner in the chemical arts, and two years as a law clerk to The Honorable Glenn L. Archer, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. 

Bill has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America^©  from 2008–2016. In 2010, he was named the “Charlotte Intellectual Property Law Lawyer of the Year,” in 2014 “Charlotte Patent Law Lawyer of the Year” and in 2015, “Charlotte Litigation – Patent Lawyer of the Year” by the same publication. He was listed in North Carolina Super Lawyers from 2006–2012.

Bar Admissions

• North Carolina
• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Education

• George Mason University (J.D., 1988)
• Oklahoma State University (M.S., 1983)
• Ouachita Baptist University (B.S., 1980)

Memberships