D.C. Bar IP Community Honors Judge Richard Linn With Champion of Intellectual Property Award
May 04, 2023
Judge Richard Linn (center) receives the Champion of Intellectual Property Award from fellow Federal Circuit Judge Kathleen M. O’Malley and D.C. Bar Intellectual Property (IP) Community Steering Committee Chair Bradley Hartman.
On May 3 the D.C. Bar Intellectual Property (IP) Community honored Judge Richard Linn of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit with its Champion of Intellectual Property Award.
Retired Federal Circuit Judge Kathleen M. O’Malley remarked on Linn’s contributions as a judge and as a leader in the intellectual property field, saying that, but for his efforts, she might not have taken the bench. She called attention to Linn’s involvement in the American Inns of Court, including his creation of the Linn Inn Alliance, a nationwide organization of about 25 IP-focused Inns of Court.
Prior to his nomination by President Bill Clinton to the Federal Circuit in 1999, Linn served as a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, as a patent adviser at the Office of Naval Research, and as a patent and IP lawyer in private practice at Foley & Lardner LLP and Marks & Murase LLP. Linn is a founding member of the Board of Governors of the Virginia State Bar Intellectual Property Section.
Linn was an adjunct professor at The George Washington University School of Law from 2001 to 2003 and has been previously recognized by numerous organizations for his work in service of the public, as a judge, and in the field of intellectual property.
In accepting the award, Linn recalled his first experiences in what would become a lifelong career in intellectual property, describing a high-school summer job in 1963 doing pencil drawings for his uncle, a patent draftsman.
“I said, ‘I think this is what I want to be, I want to be a patent draftsman,’ and he said to me, ‘You don’t want to be a patent draftsman . . . you want to be a patent attorney.’ To a high school kid, that went in one ear and out the other, but that little seed was planted, and years later that seed came to fruition,” Linn said.
Linn’s work in intellectual property law gave him an appreciation for the perspectives of various parties. He said colleagues would, at times, assume he is a pro-patent because of his background as a patent examiner.
“I’m not pro-patent, I’m pro-patent system because I firmly believe that the patent system is a fundamental driver of innovation in the United States and throughout the world and is something we need to safeguard,” he said. “I am a little concerned that our patent system is undergoing some challenges and some attacks that are, in some respects, warranted and in some respects not warranted.”
Linn has sought to address his concerns regarding threats to the patent system as one of the founding members of the Naples Roundtable, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the strengthening and improvement of the patent system. Participation is by invitation only, with membership limited to those with significant experience and expertise in the patent field.
Linn’s own experience has influenced his perspective on the importance of the patent system. “Over the years I’ve seen lots and lots of changes,” he said. “I remember what it was like before the Federal Circuit [was created in 1982], and the fact that patents had a fairly diminished value because of the uncertainty that existed at the time.”
Linn also reflected on the effect of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011, which he said dramatically limited patent litigation. Before the act’s passage, patent litigation proceeded on a number of potential grounds, but following the act nearly all cases have revolved around patent validity. “I can’t remember the last time I heard a case involving some serious questions of infringement,” he said.
Linn said he felt “doubly honored” to be named champion of intellectual property. “First, it is an award from the D.C. Bar, and I realize that I have been a member of the D.C. Bar for, believe it or not, over a half-century,” he said. “And, of course, it goes without saying, it is a special treat to be recognized by my dear friend Judge O’Malley.”
