William Wilson

William Wilson is a partner in the firm’s Technology group and Intellectual Property practice. His practice focuses on advising startups, large corporate enterprises, and venture capital and private equity investors on business and technology transactions, including counseling, structuring and negotiating deals across industries with a particular focus on the fintech, software, and high technology sectors.

William has experience providing Technology and Intellectual Property counseling in all aspects of strategic licensing and technology transactions, joint ventures and other strategic alliances, and intellectual property strategy and protection. He also has significant experience advising clients on intellectual property and commercial matters across a variety of strategic mergers, acquisitions, and corporate divestitures.

He has served as a Guest Lecturer at numerous universities including Columbia University, Brown University, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Tennessee, and 1500 Sound Academy. His lectures have covered a range of topics including technology transactions, venture capital, artificial intelligence, and startup matters. He also works with several startup accelerators and incubators including MIT Delta V, Techstars, and Spark Cleantech Accelerator.

Prior to joining Goodwin, William practiced in Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe’s IP Licensing & Technology Transactions group, where he focused on technology transactions and data privacy. He previously completed a secondment at AWS Elemental, overseeing a broad range of technology and intellectual property transactions.

Before law school, he worked at Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

William is certified as an Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) by the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

William has been named a Recommended Lawyer for Patent Licensing by The Legal 500 United States. The Legal 500 stated that Mr. Wilson has a “deep knowledge of the issues, both legal and technical and is able to clearly advise and support both the legal and business teams.” The guide also praised him for a “relaxed and collaborative negotiation style that promotes resolution of issues, which is a very helpful skill when dealing with a difficult counterparty.”

William’s recent publications include:

• Author, “10 IP and Commercial Contract Loose Ends to Tie Up Before You Approach Investors,” TechCrunch, April 2022
• Author, “The CFPB Amendment to the Annual Privacy Notice Requirement under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act,” Payments & FinTech Lawyer, October 2018
• Co-Author, “Cloud Computing Agreements: Negotiating Privacy Issues with Large Cloud Vendors,” Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Docket, June 24, 2016
• Author, “The Federal Circuit Strips the iPhone of its Trade Dress Victory,” INTA Bulletin, Vol 70, No 12, July 1, 2015
• Author, “Supplemental Expert Report Not Admissible,” INTA Bulletin, Vol 69, No 19, October 15, 2015
• Author, “The TTAB Did Not Love New York,” INTA Bulletin, Vol 69, No 10, June 1, 2014
• Author, “Ninth Circuit Refuses to Enforce Browsewrap Terms,” Hunton & Williams LLP Client Alert, September 2014
• Author, “TTAB Finds Holistic Merely Descriptive of Cat Food,” INTA Bulletin, Vol 69, No 4, February 17, 2014
• Co-Author, “Sixth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of All Claims Related to ‘Soul Men’ Film and Soundtrack,” MLRC MediaLawLetter, November 29, 2013

William’s recent speaking engagements include:

• Speaker, “Fireside Chat with William Wilson on Emerging Company and VC Law,” Nelson Center For Entrepreneurship, Brown University, Providence, RI, April 17, 2024
• Speaker, “Key Tech Start-Up Legal Matters,” Columbia University, New York, NY, April 9, 2024
• Panelist, “Fundraising and Legalese for Founders,” Silicon Valley Bank, New York, NY, January 31, 2024
• Speaker, “Navigating Legal Issues for Startups and Investors,” Columbia University, New York, NY, November 17, 2023
• Presenter, “Venture Capital and AI: A Legal Perspective,” New York, NY, November 13, 2023
• Presenter, “Venture Capital and IP Strategy for Cleantech Startups,” Spark Cleantech Accelerator, The University of Tennessee Research Park at Cherokee Farm, Knoxville, TN, September 21, 2023
• Speaker, New York City Entrepreneurial Consulting Class, Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Olin Business School at Washington University, New York, NY, August 23, 2023
• Speaker, 1500 Sound Academy, Los Angeles, CA, August 9, 2023
• Panelist, “Technology Law Association Fintech Panel,” University of South Carolina School of Law, March 20, 2023
• Speaker, “Launch Your Startup,” Columbia University, New York, NY, February 17, 2023
• Presenter, “Practical Contract Drafting,” Continuing Legal Education, August 17, 2022
• Presenter, “Navigating IP Strategy,” Spark Cleantech Accelerator, The University of Tennessee Research Park at Cherokee Farm, Knoxville, TN, July 9, 2022
• Co-Presenter, “Software and Data Use Agreements,” Business Attorney’s Guide to Information Technology, National Business Institute, Portland, Oregon, OR, October 24, 2017