[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 127 (Monday, September 27, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11503-S11504]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO JUDGE RICH

 Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, on June 9, 1999, Judge Giles S. Rich 
passed away at age 95, still serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for 
the Federal Circuit after nearly 43 years as a Federal judge and as the 
oldest active Federal judge in U.S. history. Today, the Federal court 
will hold a memorial service in his honor. I rise today to add my voice 
to those of the participants in that memorial service in paying tribute 
to this man who contributed as much, if not more, than anyone else in 
this century to the development of U.S. patent policy and the promotion 
of American innovation.
  Judge Rich was heard to say, ``You see, as I go along, practically 
everything I did was what I didn't intend to do.'' I believe that 
statement to be true in large part because Judge Rich was a man who 
didn't follow success, but was instead followed by success. Bright 
people and prestigious positions were drawn to him because of who he 
was.
  Judge Rich was educated at Harvard College, from which he graduated 
in 1926. He went on to receive his law degree from Columbia Law School 
in 1929. Since Columbia University didn't have any patent law classes, 
Judge Rich decided to teach himself patent law, through an arrangement 
with a professor that allowed him to receive credit for a thorough and 
lengthy paper on patents. He in turn shared his knowledge and intellect 
with students as a lecturer on patent law at Columbia University from 
1942 until 1956, as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law 
Center from 1963 to 1969, and as a lecturer on patent and copyright law 
as part of the Federal Judicial Center's training program for newly 
appointed judges from the program's inception in 1965 until 1971.
  As a dedicated lawyer, professor, and judge, Judge Rich played a 
significant role in the development and evolution of intellectual 
property law in the United States. He practiced law in a private 
practice from 1929 to 1956, specializing in patent and trademark law. 
He became a member of the New York Bar in 1929 and was certified by the 
U.S. Patent Office in 1934. As a member

[[Page S11504]]

of a two-man drafting committee, he was one of the two people 
principally responsible for drafting the 1952 Patent Act, which served 
as the first codification of all our nations' federal patent laws and 
which has served this country well for half a decade without 
significant revision. In 1992, Judge Rich earned special recognition 
from President Bush for his contributions to the patent code of our 
nation's patent system.
  Judge Rich served in private practice until 1956, when President 
Eisenhower appointed him as an associate judge for the Court of Customs 
and Patent Appeals (CCPA). Then, in 1982, he was appointed as a Circuit 
Judge for the CCPA's successor court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 
Federal Circuit, which holds exclusive jurisdiction for patent appeals. 
From his seat on the Federal Circuit, Judge Rich authored landmark 
decisions clarifying some of the most difficult concepts in patent law, 
including decisions that have been hailed as laying the foundation for 
the modern biotechnology industry and important cases dealing with the 
complex area of software and computer-related inventions.
  Judge Rich was the distinguished recipient of a host of awards during 
his career, ranging from the Jefferson Medal of New Jersey Patent Law 
Association in 1955 to the Oldest Active Judge in U.S. History 
Recognized by Chief Justices in 1997. He was the inaugural recipient of 
the Pesquale J. Federico Memorial Award for outstanding service to the 
patent and trademark systems, awarded by the Patent and Trademark 
Office Society. He was awarded the Charles F. Kettering Award and 
Distinguished Government Service Award from the George Washington 
University. He was awarded the Harlan Fisk Stone Medal from Columbia 
University. There is a law school moot court competition sponsored by 
the American Intellectual Property Law Association--now in its 28th 
year--named in his honor. There is even an Inn of Court named in his 
honor. He has been awarded recognition from intellectual property law 
associations in cities across the country and, in 1997, was awarded the 
Centennial Visionary Award by the American Intellectual Property Law 
Association upon the commemoration of its 100th anniversary. He holds 
honorary Doctor of Law degrees from the George Washington University, 
John Marshall Law School, and George Mason University School of Law. 
And these are but a few of the many accolades Judge Rich has received 
throughout life.
  As with all judges, many of those who followed Judge Rich's decisions 
admired and agreed with his legal theories, while others disagreed. But 
all respected his intelligence, strength, and ambition. He wrote in the 
history of the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals that ``[c]ourts are 
people and little else. Law evolves from their manners of thinking at 
particular times and from the interactions of people thinking.'' Judge 
Giles S. Rich, as a person, helped transform our federal courts. He 
contributed to a body of statutory and judicial precedent that is 
unparalleled throughout much of our nation's history. Chief Judge 
Archer said of Judge Rich in 1994 that Judge Rich was ``open-minded, 
flexible and respectful of the views of his colleagues. He [brought] to 
the art of judging the temperament and knowledge that are rarely 
equaled. It sets a high standard for all of us.'' And as John Reilly 
stated in eulogizing Judge Rich, he was ``a quiet jurist and gentle man 
who by his tireless scholarship and faithful devotion to the patent 
law, turned our American century into an inventive, productive 
powerhouse, to the benefit of us all.''
  Judge Rich began his career as an intellectual property law 
practitioner and scholar at a time when radio broadcasts were the 
latest emerging technology, yet he lived to set much of the patent 
policy that formed the foundation for the digital revolution. For these 
contributions to American jurisprudence and our patent system, his 
presence will always be remembered by legislators, lawyers, and judges 
who reflect on the law that was made by the feisty judge that wasn't 
going to stop hearing cases until something forced him to do so.
  Judge Rich, at one time, told an attentive audience of a verse his 
mother would recite, ``The wise old owl lie in an oak. The more he saw, 
the less he spoke; the less the spoke the more he heard. Why can't we 
be more like that old bird?'' The intellectual property community and 
all of us can learn a great deal from the ``old bird,'' Judge Rich. 
John Witherspoon, one of Judge Rich's former law clerks, once said 
that, ``Giles Rich is a Master teacher--by which I mean, he doesn't 
teach at all; those around him simply learn.''
  Many will miss his presence and the experiences it brought. I send my 
condolences out to his family, and my gratitude to the man who worked 
so hard to contribute to American jurisprudence and the preservation of 
America's status as a nation of inventors.

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