William G. Pagán

William G. Pagán is a multi award-winning patent attorney, a member of the NC State Computer Science Alumni Hall of Fame, and a named inventor on over 130 patent applications; an achievement that earned him the title of Master Inventor over the course of nearly 15 years of developing patentable technologies for IBM in various software/hardware engineering and intellectual property roles. In 2010 in particular, he was named IBM's RTP Inventor of the Year.

Nationally-recognized as a Hispanic Luminary in the STEM disciplines at the Hispanic Engineering National Achievement Awards Conference, Will has significant technical experience in software, computers, telecommunications, consumer electronics, systems management, & related fields. In addition to his Master's and Bachelor's degrees in Computer Science, he graduated Summa Cum Laude (highest honors) from NCCU Law as their Evening Program valedictorian.

Will uses his engineering and business background to represent inventors and other content creators in obtaining, enforcing, and monetizing patent, copyright, and trademark rights. He also helps clients understand and navigate the intellectual property rights of others. His experience as a private patent attorney, corporate patent engineer, and hardware/software developer gives him significant insight into the legal, business, and technical sides to patent development, enforcement, valuation, licensing, and transfer objectives.

Will's professional engineering experience includes over a decade in IBM's server development business, leading teams across companies and geographies in the development of software to interface with the embedded software and micro-controllers in IBM's Intel x86/64 and Power PC-based server architectures, whether in rack, tower, chassis, blade, or cloud configurations.  His leadership work on IBM’s Intel-based Thurley platforms in particular won him an Outstanding Technical Achievement Award.

Will's leadership throughout his storied legal and engineering careers has also been marked by committed volunteer service and mentorship.  Will proudly serves his community as the NC Wing Legal Officer of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), United States Air Force Auxiliary, in which he holds the grade of Captain. CAP is congressionally chartered to provide emergency services (e.g., air/ground search and rescue, disaster relief), aerospace education, and youth programs to the public. The NC Wing Legal Officer is an attorney pro bono volunteer that is a member of the NC Wing Commander's staff and supervises a team of Assistant Legal Officers (who are also attorneys) throughout NC. He advises on the legal implications of CAP programs and activities, which may include issues pertaining to, e.g., interpretation of laws and regulations; contracts and agreements; insurance; real estate; taxation; investigations; corporate records and organizations; and relations with local agencies.  For his pro bono service, Will was admitted to the NC Pro Bono Honor Society of 2017 and was the 2019 recipient of the NC Bar Association IP Law Section's Outstanding Achievement Pro Bono Award.

Will's leadership in the legal and engineering professions have been recognized numerous times over.  In 2016 and 2018, Will was recognized by NC Lawyers Weekly as one of their Leaders in the Law; a honor given to only 30 or so attorneys statewide each year.  He was also honored in 2018 as one of NCCU's Top 40 Under 40; an honor only given biennially to outstanding alumni for significant contributions in the arts, law, entertainment, healthcare, sciences, the military, education, business, philanthropy, and public service.  In 2007, he was also given a Star Award by the Distributed Management Task Force for his work in developing systems management protocol conformance programs.

Will is admitted to practice law in North Carolina, as well as before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.  He is a life member of the Society of Professional Hispanic Engineers and the NC Society of Hispanic Professionals.