Abstract
For nearly forty-three years, Giles Sutherland Rich served as a member of the U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals (C.C.P.A.) and its successor court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Judge Rich is widely regarded as one of the most influential jurists in the area of patent law—and rightfully so. Less well known is that Judge Rich also authored many significant decisions in the area of trademark law. Judge Rich’s opinions in the area of trademarks span the spectrum of trademark registrability issues and explore important issues of public policy. This Article reviews a number of Judge Rich’s most important trademark and intellectual property decisions. These decisions focus on such issues as the impact of consents, functionality, trademark subject matter, and genericness. Such a review leads to the observation that the vast majority of his opinions and views remain relevant, indeed, controlling, in resolving trademark registration disputes
Recommended Citation
Samuels, Jeffrey M., Samuels, Linda B. “The Trademark Jurisprudence of Judge Rich.” American University Law Review 56, no. 4 (April 2007): 761-791.
