Join Dorsey & Whitney for a discussion with former Federal Circuit Chief Judge Randall R. Rader, who will share his perspective from 27 years of deciding patent disputes, four of those years spent as Chief Judge of the nation’s highest patent court. Will entrepreneurs and innovative companies be able to continue to effectively protect their innovations as patent laws and legal theories change? Has the Supreme Court done a good job in interpreting the patent law with recent decisions, such as Alice? What is there about American-style patent litigation that allowed for the rise of the “patent troll?” By restricting trolls, are we restricting patent holders generally? Does the U.S. still provide a favorable legal environment for protecting innovation, or are other countries providing better protections? Has globalization rendered territorial patent laws irrelevant?

UW Law Professor and Assistant Dean for Law, Business, & Technology Initiatives Sean O’Connor will also join us to discuss his views on intellectual property, including the future of legal education.

Following our discussion, Chief Judge Rader and bandmate Assistant Dean O’Connor will perform a few classic rock hits from their repertoire, setting the stage for a unique and entertaining networking reception.

About Chief Judge Randall R. Rader

Randall R. Rader was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 1990, becoming Chief Judge in 2010. He was appointed to the U.S. Claims Court (now the U. S. Court of Federal Claims) in 1988. Before that, he served as minority and majority chief counsel to sub-committees of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. From 1975 to 1980 he served as counsel in the House of Representatives for representatives on the Interior, Appropriations and Ways and Means Committees. He retired from the bench in 2014.

In addition to his judicial role, Chief Judge Rader has been an active teacher both in the U.S. and abroad and is one of the authors of the most widely used casebook for U.S. patent law, entitled Cases and Materials on Patent Law. He received a BA in English from Brigham Young University and a JD from George Washington University Law School. In his spare time, Chief Judge Rader is an avid tennis player and cyclist. Dear to his heart is his rock band, which is appropriately named DeNovo.

For additional information about this event, including how to register, please contact Dorsey Events.