Giles Sutherland Rich Papers
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Scope and Contents
The Giles Sutherland Rich Papers contains draft legislation, correspondence, and supporting documents dealing with design protection law. The papers were created between 1950 and 1987 and mainly relate to the period when Giles Rich headed the Coordinating Committee on Revision and Amendment of Patent Laws of the National Council of Patent Law Associations, after having come to prominence in the field through his work drafting a federal patent statute which took effect in 1953.
Dates
- Creation: 1950-1987
- Creation: Bulk dates: 1953-1977
Creator
- Rich, Giles Sutherland, 1904-1999 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Biographical Note
Giles Sutherland Rich (1904-1999) was born May 30, 1904 in Rochester, New York and received his law degree from Columbia University in 1929. Practicing patent law in his family’s New York City firm, he became a recognized authority and was appointed to draft a new federal patent statute after World War II. The law (35 U.S.C.) was introduced in Congress in 1951, signed by President Truman in 1952, and went into effect the following year.
President Eisenhower nominated Judge Rich to the U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals in 1956. In 1981, he authored "A Brief History of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals." His court merged with the appellate Court of Claims in 1982, creating the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. At the time of his death on June 15, 1999, he was the oldest living federal judge. Throughout his career, Judge Rich worked to remedy shortcomings of the Patent and Copyright Laws regarding ornamental designs.
Extent
3.71 Linear Feet (6 containers)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
Collection is described as a folder inventory.
Custodial History
The collection was originally donated by Judge Rich’s family to the University of Baltimore, School of Law. In May 2003, UB Law Professor William Fryer III arranged to have the collection transferred to Special Collections in the University's Langsdale Library, now called the UBalt Special Collections and Archives at RLB Library.
Subject
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Finding aid for the Giles Sutherland Rich Papers
- Author
- Finding aid created by Special Collections and Archives staff after donation in 2003. Revised by Aiden Faust (2011). Revised by Laura Bell (2022).
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Baltimore Studies Archives Repository
H. Mebane Turner Learning Commons, Room 104
1415 Maryland Avenue
Baltimore Maryland 21201 USA
410-837-4253
specialcollections@ubalt.edu