News Article

Public Relations Contact: Bruce Buchanan, (336) 728-7027

ATLANTA-Womble Carlyle IP attorney William M. "Bill" Ragland, Jr., has been named to the first-ever IAM 250-The World's Leading IP Strategists. The list was compiled by Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) magazine and recognizes the world's 250 top attorneys, consultants and financiers who work with intellectual property owners to increase the value of their IP portfolios.

To qualify for listing in the IAM 250, individuals had to be nominated by at least three people who work in organizations unrelated to that particular nominee. From there, IAM officials conducted extensive research, including personal interviews, to determine the 250 top IP strategists from a pool of several hundred nominees.

"I'm honored to receive this recognition," Ragland said. "IP strategy is all about building value for our clients. The IAM 250 is a great way to highlight the role IP strategists play."

Ragland is one of the pioneers in the field of intellectual property monetization programs and strategies. Beginning in the mid-1980s, he represented Hayes Microcomputer Products in one of the earliest industry-wide patent licensing and enforcement programs in the world. He is also well-known as an architect of the AudioFAX IP monetization program, which has been recognized as one of the most innovative and successful patent licensing and enforcement programs of its time. He has been featured in "Big Deals" in IP Law & Business magazine regarding his representation in license agreements with major technology companies.

"One of the reasons Bill has been so effective for his clients is that in addition to being adept at licensing and enforcement strategy and execution, he also has deep experience as an IP and patent litigator," said Jim Vaughan, leader of Womble Carlyle's Intellectual Property and Patent Litigation Practice Group. In the field of patents, Ragland has served as litigation counsel in more than 40 patent infringement lawsuits.

Intellectual Asset Management magazine is a publication that reports on intellectual property as a business asset. The magazine's primary focus is on looking at how IP can be best managed and exploited in order to increase company profits, drive shareholder value and obtain increased leverage in the capital markets.

Womble Carlyle - Innovators at Law
A full-service business law firm, Womble Carlyle ranks among American Lawyer magazine's list of the 100 leading firms in the country and is a top law firm for companies doing business in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states. The firm is a recipient of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund Corporate Leadership Award, making Womble Carlyle the first law firm ever to receive the highest honor given to a business organization in recognition of its support of the Fund and its 45 member educational institutions.

The firm also is the first law firm to be awarded the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Freedom Award, which is the highest recognition given by the U.S. government to employers for their support of employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve.

Founded in 1876, Womble Carlyle operates in six states and the District of Columbia with more than 500 attorneys in eleven offices located in Atlanta, GA; Greenville, SC; Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh, Research Triangle Park, and Winston-Salem, NC; Washington, DC; Tysons Corner, VA; Baltimore, MD; and Wilmington, DE.