Rich, Giles S.

Biographical Note

• 1904, May 30: Born, Rochester, N.Y.
• 1926: Bachelor of science, Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass.
• 1929: Bachelor of law, Columbia University School of Law, New York, N.Y.
• 1929 - 1952 : Private practice in patent and trademark law, Williams, Rich and Morse, New York, N.Y.
• 1931: Married Gertrude Verity Braun (died 1953)
• 1942 - 1956 : Lecturer on patent law, Columbia University School of General Studies, New York, N.Y.
• 1950 - 1951 : President, New York Patent Law Association
• 1950: Member, Drafting Committee, Coordinating Committee of the National Council of Patent Law Associations, which drafted the Patent Act of 1952
• 1952 - 1956 : Private practice in patent and trademark law, Churchill, Rich, Weymouth and Engel, New York, N.Y.
• 1953: Married Helen Gill Field
• 1956 - 1982 : Associate judge, United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals
• 1963: Received Charles F. Kettering Award from the Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Research Institute, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
• 1963 - 1969 : Adjunct professor of patent law, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C.
• 1979: Wrote the opinion for In re Bergy recognizing the patentability of genetically engineered life forms
• 1980: In re Bergy affirmed by the Supreme Court in Diamond v. Chakrabarty
• 1982 - 1999 : Circuit judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, created by the merger of the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals and the Court of Claims
• 1999, June 9: Died, Washington, D.C.

From the guide to the Giles S. Rich Papers, 1790-1999, (bulk 1956-1999), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)