22 Facts About Giles Rich

Giles Sutherland Rich was an associate judge of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals and later on was a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and had enormous impact on patent law.

Giles Rich was the first patent attorney appointed to any federal court since Benjamin Robbins Curtis was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1851.

Giles Rich's father worked for a variety of clients, including George Eastman, the founder of the Eastman Kodak Company.

Giles Rich received a Bachelor of Science degree from Harvard University in 1926 and a Bachelor of Laws from Columbia Law School in 1929.

Giles Rich was very active in the work of the New York Patent Law Association, and eventually became its vice president in 1948 and 1949, and its president in 1950 and 1951.

Giles Rich took an active role in the work of the New York Patent Law Association when it undertook to introduce and foster legislation to address the Supreme Court's Mercoid cases, which virtually destroyed the doctrine of contributory infringement.

Giles Rich was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 19,1956, and received his commission the same day.

Giles Rich was initially appointed as a Judge under Article I, but the court was raised to Article III status by operation of law on August 25,1958, and Giles Rich thereafter served as an Article III Judge.

Giles Rich was reassigned by operation of law to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on October 1,1982, to a new seat authorized by 96 Stat.

Giles Rich's service terminated on June 9,1999, due to his death.

Giles Rich served as an adjunct professor of patent law at Georgetown University from 1963 to 1969.

For example, in State Street Bank v Signature Financial Group, Judge Rich justified his conclusion on the basis that the business method exception to patentability was abolished by the 1952 Patent Act.

Giles Rich had earlier stated, in a law review article written not long after the passage of the 1952 Patent Act, that Section 101 of the Act denied patent protection to business methods, observing that the diaper service, "one of the greatest inventions of our times," was patent-ineligible because it was a business method.

Judge Giles Rich was an outspoken critic of the Supreme Court and Justice Department when they took positions on patent law in opposition to those which he advocated.

In 1992 Giles Rich earned special recognition from President Bush for his contributions to the US patent code.

That same year, Giles Rich was honored with an American Inn of Court established in his name to foster professionalism, ethics, civility, and legal skills in the area of intellectual property.

Judge Giles Rich was the single most important figure in twentieth century intellectual property law.

In 2006 Judge Giles Rich was inducted into the IP Hall of Fame.

On January 10,1931, Giles Rich married his first wife, Gertrude Verity Braun, the daughter of a Barnard College professor who was head of the German Department, and they had a daughter, Verity Sutherland, born in 1940.

Gertrude died in 1953, and Giles Rich married his second wife, Helen Gill Field the same year.

Giles Rich was an accomplished photographer, and known among patent lawyers and judges for his curiosity and familiarity with the mechanics of everyday appliances.

Giles Rich died of lymphoma on June 9,1999, at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC.