Rich, Giles Sutherland Chair for Intellectual Property Law
The Giles Sutherland Rich Chair for Intellectual Property Law at the School of Law recognizes the life and accomplishments of The Honorable Giles Sutherland Rich. It was established in 2000. One of the principal authors of the Patent Act of 1956, Judge Rich served as a member of the U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals and its successor court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, from 1956 until his death in June 1999. At the time of his death, Judge Rich was the oldest active federal judge in the nation’s history. He is credited with clarifying a large number of difficult concepts in the law of patents and authoring many landmark opinions. The Giles Sutherland Rich Chair for Intellectual Property Law serves to enhance the prestige and reputation of intellectual property law program at The University of Akron School of Law.
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