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ndrosenOn Thursday morning, I attended the annual meeting of the Patent and Trademark Office Society. There was some discussion of business, the induction of new officers, and the presentation of awards to people who had done work for the Society. They have what is called the Order of the Ant Award, and one especially hard worker gets the Grand Ant Award.
Laura Peter, a high official at the USPTO, gave a talk on Patent Office history, beginning with the time when Thomas Jefferson, then Secretary of State, and his fellow cabinet members worked part time at considering patent applications; issued patents were signed by President Washington. Trademarks were not granted until much later, and the first law providing for trademarks to be issued was found unconstitutional because it was based on the section of the Constitution authorizing patents and copyrights to promote the progress of science and the useful arts. Later legislation relied on the Interstate Commerce clause to support the granting of trademarks.
Judge Randall Rader was honored by an award; he used to be Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and I remember him addressing an audience at the USPTO on at least one previous occasion. That may have been at a PTOS meeting, or legal education for examiners, or both.
Laura Peter, a high official at the USPTO, gave a talk on Patent Office history, beginning with the time when Thomas Jefferson, then Secretary of State, and his fellow cabinet members worked part time at considering patent applications; issued patents were signed by President Washington. Trademarks were not granted until much later, and the first law providing for trademarks to be issued was found unconstitutional because it was based on the section of the Constitution authorizing patents and copyrights to promote the progress of science and the useful arts. Later legislation relied on the Interstate Commerce clause to support the granting of trademarks.
Judge Randall Rader was honored by an award; he used to be Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and I remember him addressing an audience at the USPTO on at least one previous occasion. That may have been at a PTOS meeting, or legal education for examiners, or both.
