[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 10, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E21]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING JUDGE CHUNG PAK
______
HON. JAMIE RASKIN
of maryland
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize my constituent and
friend, Judge Chung Pak, for his extraordinary career in public service
and his exemplary commitment to serving his community and the great
State of Maryland.
Judge Pak is retiring after 31 years of splendid government service.
For more than 23 years, Judge Pak served as an Administrative Patent
Judge with the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), where he
adjudicated more than 6,000 patent cases and personally issued over
2,000 opinions. Judge Pak has also served on the PTAB New Judge
Training Committee, the PTAB Publication Committee, the Board of Patent
Appeals, the Patent Academy Course Review Committee, and the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office Diversity Council.
Judge Pak embodies the spirit of the American Dream and the
immigrant success story. In 1971, he immigrated with his family from
South Korea to Alabama, where he worked at the local Kentucky Fried
Chicken restaurant. In high school, he played nose guard on the
football team, but it was his extraordinary skill on the tennis court
that ultimately earned him a scholarship to Auburn University. After
earning a degree in chemical engineering, Chung attended the Columbus
School of Law at the Catholic University of America, where he became a
moot court champion.
Prior to his appointment to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Pak
was an intellectual property counsel at Praxair, Inc. and Union Carbide
Corporation, where he worked on a wide range of issues including
domestic and foreign patent procurement, litigation, trade secrets,
antitrust, and licensing. He also served as a Primary Patent Examiner
and an Assistant Patent Examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office for more than eight years.
Judge Pak is a widely-respected community leader who has volunteered
his time and invested his energy in a number of state and local causes.
He has served as Co-Chair of the NAACP Montgomery County's
Multicultural Partnership Committee, Board Member of the Senior
Executive Association, member of Germantown Police Advisory Committee,
member of the Maryland Attorney General's Advisory Council, and as a
Maryland Higher Education Commissioner.
In recognition of his passionate commitment to public service, Judge
Pak has received the President's Volunteer Service Award, the Maryland
Governor's Volunteer Service Award, Progressive Maryland's Progressive
Leader Award, and the Montgomery County Police Department's Award of
Appreciation. He was also inducted into the Montgomery County Human
Rights Hall of Fame.
Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking Judge Chung
Pak for a long and distinguished career in public service and in
celebrating his dedication to his community and our country.
____________________