A Rich Legacy

Abstract

The afternoon was not unlike many other memorable times spent in the company of Judge Giles Rich, the patriarch of modern U.S. patent law. One of several former law clerks who had come to visit the judge in his hospital room in Washington, I had arrived that morning from Boston while others had traveled from as far as California. The judge seemed quite cheered by the law clerk mini-reunion gathered in a semicircle around him and in a mood for talking and reminiscing. We chatted about recent developments at the Federal Circuit, the news in that morning's Washington Post, and updates on our respective lives -- upcoming travel, new work responsibilities, spouses, friends, children, even pets. Always the center of attention, Judge Rich held forth for several hours, interspersing the talk with stories of drafting the 1952 Patent Act and tales of the Judge Worley days on the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals. The memory of that last magical afternoon with Judge Rich is a gift that I and the others present will always cherish. I share here some other special remembrances of Judge Rich, many expressed in his own words.

Keywords: Judge Giles S. Rich, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Judge Rich, Federal Circuit Court, judiciary, patent law, modern patent law, in memoriam, legacy