Billy C. Raulerson

Every client’s invention and new technology is important to Billy. He works closely with clients to identify the specific outcomes they seek, and he is driven to attain successful resolutions. Billy’s current practice is primarily in the electrical/mechanical space, and he has a strong background in software technology.

Billy has worked with many Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies and has extensive experience managing large, global patent portfolios. He regularly represents multi-national, multi-division corporations with diverse, global patent portfolios and supervises client teams consisting of multiple dedicated IP attorneys, paralegals and support staff. He provides significant value supplementing clients’ IP departments, working side-by-side with busy in-house legal and technical staff and corporate leaders.

A significant portion of Billy’s time is dedicated to helping clients explore the often-competing benefits obtained through patent protection and trade secret protection. He is involved with innovation harvesting, meeting with inventors to understand the potential for protecting their inventions.

A registered patent attorney since 2002, Billy has significant experience preparing and prosecuting patent applications relating to computer software and the electrical, mechanical, and chemical arts, as well as trademark applications spanning a wide range of goods and services. He has a remarkable success rate in appealing adverse examiner decisions to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Billy provides opinions on patentability, clearance/freedom-to-operate, non-infringement, and invalidity. He has been involved in several patent disputes, including complex multi-patent, multi-venue litigation.

Billy works closely with his corporate, estate planning, and other colleagues and applies his extensive knowledge of intellectual property law to advise his clients across an evolving range of topics, such as artificial intelligence (AI); non-practicing entities (NPEs); and data privacy.

Since 2022, Chambers USA has ranked Billy as a Leading Lawyer in Intellectual Property, most recently (2024) in Band 3 in Ohio. Chambers researchers noted, "Billy Raulerson offers counsel to clients on a range of patent disputes, regularly assisting with the preparation and prosecution of large portfolios." Clients interviewed by Chambers USA stated, "Billy has a very pragmatic and no-nonsense approach to things and is consistent in his conversations. He knows our business inside out and does an excellent job at pairing us with the right expert."

Billy has authored several articles on intellectual property legal topics, and he has delivered numerous presentations to various companies and organizations.

A member of the Ohio, D.C., and Columbus Bar Associations, Billy is also associated with the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) and the International Trademark Association (INTA).

Billy was employed with Sughrue Mion, PLLC prior to joining Calfee in 2005. He was elected Partner in 2011. He began serving as Vice Chair of the Intellectual Property practice group in 2020 and was appointed Co-Chair of the IP group in 2023.

Honors & Recognitions

• Chambers USA, Intellectual Property, Band 3, Ohio (2022-2024)
• The Best Lawyers in America, Patent Law (2024-2025)

Education

J.D., cum laude, University of Dayton School of Law, 2001

BSCS and BSCIS, summa cum laude, University of South Florida, 1998

Experience

• Handling IP matters for a publicly traded, Fortune 1000, global manufacturer, including drafting and prosecuting dozens of patent applications directed to technology of strategic importance to the client. Calfee also represents the company in significant IP litigation matters when they occur. Calfee routinely manages and assists with matters related to patent prosecution and IP strategy, management and strategy of patent and trademark portfolios, and advice on IP strategy and litigation. Calfee also is handling "take-down" disputes related to infringers of the client's patents on the Amazon.com website.
• Serving a multi-billion-dollar, multinational, publicly traded, Fortune 500 manufacturer for more than a decade, working with a team of in-house patent/IP counsel to handle the implementation of the client’s global IP protection objectives for all company divisions, including interfacing with Research & Development and business leaders concentrated in the United States and Europe. Specifically, Calfee oversees the drafting and prosecution of hundreds of patent applications throughout the world on behalf of the client and counsels the client on critical IP-related issues such as freedom-to-practice, trade secret strategies, and innovation harvesting.
• Managing the patent portfolio encompassing dozens of granted patents and pending applications, including jointly developed technology, for a global innovator and manufacturer of temperature sensors, controls, and measurement instrumentation and transport systems. Specifically, Calfee drafts and prosecutes the company’s patent applications. Calfee assisted the client in filing several patent applications for its new commercial system in the U.S. and Asia. Calfee regularly meets with the client to discuss patent and trade secret strategy with respect to innovations across the company’s earth-based and space-based applications.
• Serving as the preferred IP counsel for non-catalyst innovations, including implementing protection strategies encompassing patent filings throughout the world and providing general IP-related counseling for a global leader in petrochemical and related technologies worldwide. Specifically, Calfee’s IP team provides patent preparation and prosecution, global portfolio maintenance, and IP counseling. Calfee was asked to handle a large technology portfolio that the client recently acquired.
• Drafting patent applications for a world-renowned health system with more than 2,000 issued patents and generating multi-billions of dollars in revenue. The client's patents involve new and emerging technologies, which include new virus detection platforms and novel stent technologies.
• Working closely with in-house counsel of a global, publicly traded, Fortune 500 corporation operating more than 70 facilities across the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Managing a growing portfolio of over 2,500 matters including patents, trade secrets, agreements, and studies/opinions, and advising on IP strategy.
• Representing a multinational, publicly traded energy corporation with operations in the Americas, Middle East, Asia, Europe, and Russia. Managing a significant portion of their global patent portfolio. Providing strategic recommendations on advancing the patent portfolio throughout the world.

Professional & Community

• American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), Member
• Cleveland Intellectual Property Law Association (CIPLA), Member
• Ohio State Bar Association, Member
• D.C. Bar Association, Member
• Columbus Bar Association, Member

• 2021 Virtual Patent Pro Bono Day Program, Volunteer Patent Counsel – Provided patent counsel to Ohio inventors in pro bono program hosted by the Cleveland Corporate IP Counsel and Ohio Invents

Presentations

• "What in the (COVID) World Are Apple and Google Up To? Data Privacy in Times of Public Crisis," Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP, Webinar (July 8, 2020)
• "How to Do a Patent Search," Inventors Network, Columbus State Community College, Westerville, Ohio (March 7, 2017)
• "Trade Secrets and the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016," Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP, Columbus, Ohio (October 13, 2016)