The American Association of Patent Judges

SPEAKER SERIES

Honoring Examiner-In-Chief Pasquale Joseph Federico


Photo (1940) courtesy of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Society (22 JPOS, 866-867).

The AAPJ is proud to honor its Speaker Series after Examiner-in-Chief Federico in tribute to his dedication to the Board, Patent Office and the patent system. Pasquale (“Pat”) Joseph Federico was an Examiner-in-Chief on the Patent Office’s Board of Appeals from 1947-1970. During that time he  crafted, with soon-to-be Judge Giles Sutherland Rich, the 1952 Patent Act, for which he will be long remembered. He also made important contributions in the field of mathematics.

BIOGRAPHY

1902 (March 25) – born in Monessen, Pennsylvania.

~1910 – moved with family to Cleveland, Ohio.

1923 (June) – graduated with B.S. in physics from Case Institute of Technology.

1923 (September 6) – appointed a fourth assistant examiner assigned to Division 43.

Fitness determined by competitive examination held by U.S. Civil Service Commission, Washington D.C. (rated on physics, mechanical drawing, technics, applicant-selected civil, mechanical or chemical engineering, mathematics, French and German).

Division 43: all classes devoted to the human body, including dentistry, artificial body members, medicines, surgery, electrical medicine.

1924 – relocated from the Patent Office Building to the Old Land Office Building (Patent Office Annex) at 701 E. St. NW.

Entrance salary: $1,860/year.

1925 – received M.S. in mathematics from George Washington University.

1925 – married Bianca M. Morse of Cleveland.

1932 (February) – Associate Editor of the Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office Society (JPTOS).

1932 – received LL.B. from American University, Washington College of Law; member of the bars of D.C. and the Supreme Court

1935 – appointed Assistant Chief of Division 43.

1935 (July)-1942 – 10th Editor-in-Chief of the JPTOS.

1940 (July 16) – appointed Chief (“Principle Examiner”) of Division 43.

~1940 – teaches mathematics at George Washington University and a patent law class at Washington College of Law

1943 – chairman of committee to revise Patent Rules of Practice.

1946 – promoted to Law Examiner.

1946 – chairman of committee to revise Trademark Rules of Practice.

1947 (April 1) – appointed Examiner-in-Chief by President Harry S. Truman.

1949 – awarded Department of Commerce Gold Medal for exceptional service.

1953 – awarded Jefferson Gold Medal by the New Jersey Patent Law Association.

1958 – advisor to Commissioner of Patents Robert C. Watson and member of the U.S. delegation to the Conference of the Revision of the Paris Convention for Protection of Industrial Property.

1970 (May 18) – retired from the Office.

1982 (January 2) – passed away.

1982 (after January 2) – publication of “Descartes on Polyhedra – A Study of the De Solidorum Elementis,” P.J. Federico, by Springer-Verlag New York, 1982; forward by Bianca Federico. (LINK)

1993 – the Patent & Trademark Office Society established the Pasquale J. Federico Memorial Award to recognize outstanding contributions to the Patent and Trademark Systems of the United States of America.


Sources

Journal of the Patent & Trademark Office Society: https://www.jptos.org/p-j-federico.html

Judge Giles S. Rich, In Memoriam: P. J. (Pat) Federico and His Works, 85 J. Pat. & Trademark Off. Soc’y 83-91 (2003) (Reprinted from 64 JPOS 3 (Jan. 1982)) (LINK)

Judge Rich lists 4 mathematical studies and 56 patent law articles Pat authored.

Wikipedia (LINK).

Squaring.net by Stuart Anderson; Tiling by Squares webpage (LINK).

Speakers

June 9, 2023 (7-8 pm ET)

On the events leading up to the establishment of a permanent Board in 1861.

Hon. John E. Schneider (PTAB APJ; 2016 – )

VIDEO (link)

February 16, 2023 (7-8 pm ET)

Panel Discussion: Advice, Suggestions, Perceptions

Hon. William F. Smith (BPAI APJ; 1986-2005), Hon. Beverly M. Bunting (PTAB APJ ; 2012-2019), Hon. Peter P. Chen (PTAB APJ; 2013-2017), and Hon. Alex S. Yap (PTAB APJ; 2016-2019), former Administrative Patent Judges (APJs) of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) and Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

November 18, 2022 (5-6 pm ET)

Fireside Chat

Hon. Raymond T. Chen, United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

August 25, 2022 (2-3 pm ET)

Fireside Chat

Hon. Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office

May 6, 2022 (4-5 pm ET)

“William Robert Grove: The First Modern Patent Judge?”

Barbara Lauriat, Visiting Associate Professor and Frank H. Marks Intellectual Property Fellow at the George Washington University Law School; Senior Lecturer in Law at the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College, London

VIDEO (link)

March 11, 2022 (4-5 pm ET)

Study of PTAB’s Impact on the Federal Circuit

David O. Taylor, Professor of Law and Director of the Tsai Center for Law, Science and Innovation, SMU Dedman School of Law in Dallas, Texas

PRESENTATION (link to pdf)

VIDEO (link)

THE AAPJ

THE BOARD

IN MEMORIAM

Hon. John Paul Pinkerton

Administrative Patent Judge
Patent Trial and Appeal Board
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Source: Sand Springs Leader

Hon. Stephen Julien Emery
Examiner-In-Chief
Administrative Patent Judge
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Source: Washington Post

Hon. Norman G. Torchin
Examiner-In-Chief
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Source: Washington Post

Hon. John Thomas Goolkasian
Examiner-In-Chief
Administrative Patent Judge
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Source: Washington Post

Hon. Alton Douglas Rollins
Examiner-In-Chief
Administrative Patent Judge
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Source: Rest Haven Funeral Home

Hon. Lawrence “Larry” John Staab
Administrative Patent Judge
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Source: Miller Funeral Home

 

Hon. Natalie Trousof
Acting Examiner-in-Chief
Board of Appeals, U.S. Patent Office

Source: Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home

Hon. Gordon K. Milestone
Examiner-in-Chief
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Source: Hines-Rinaldi Funeral Home

Hon. Donald D. Forrer
Examiner-in-Chief
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Source: Beall Funeral Home

Hon. Melanie L. McCollum
Administrative Patent Judge
Patent Trial and Appeal Board, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Source: Capital Gazette

Hon. Irving Pellman
Administrative Patent Judge
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Source: Washington Post

Hon. James R. Boler
Examiner-in-Chief
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Source: Washington Post

Hon. Frederick E. McKelvey
Senior Administrative Patent Judge
Patent Trial and Appeal Board, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Source: Fauquier Now
Memorial Service

Hon. James D. Thomas
Examiner-In-Chief
Administrative Patent Judge
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Source: Pumphrey Funeral Homes

Hon. Samuel Hermann Blech
Examiner-In-Chief
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Source: findagrave.com

Hon. Douglas W. Robinson
Administrative Patent Judge
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Hon. Stanley M. Urynowicz, Jr.
Administrative Patent Judge
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Source: Washington Post

Hon. Paul Joseph Henon, Jr.
Examiner-in-Chief
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Source: Legacy.com

Hon. Harrison E. McCandlish
Administrative Patent Judge
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Source: The Washington Times

Hon. John Francis Gonzales
Administrative Patent Judge
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Source: Times-Picayune

Hon. Evelyn K. Merker
Examiner-in-Chief
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Source: Legacy

Hon. A Donald Messenheimer
Examiner-in-Chief
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Source: findagrave.com

Hon. Jerry Smith
Administrative Patent Judge
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Source: Washington Post 

Hon. Elizabeth C. Weimar
Administrative Patent Judge
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Sources: American University Law Review | findagrave.com | Washington Post