Happy 40th Anniversary, Judge Pauline Newman!
“In her remarks at IPWatchdog LIVE last year, Judge Newman encouraged those in the room not just to think about what the law is but ‘what the law should be, for the good of the nation, and all nations.’”
Today, Judge Pauline Newman celebrates 40 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC). Newman was nominated to the court on January 30, 1984, by then-President Ronald Reagan, confirmed by the Senate on February 27 and officially assumed office on February 28, 1984. Newman was the first judge to be appointed directly to the Federal Circuit; all of the standing judges at that time attained their position through the merger of the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals and the appellate division of the United States Court of Federal Claims. She filled the Federal Circuit vacancy created at that time by Judge Philip Nichols Jr., who had taken senior status.
Beginning in 1961, Judge Newman started to serve in a series of policy roles which would help establish her expertise in both scientific and intellectual property subject matter. Between 1961 and 1962, she worked as a science policy specialist for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), where she worked in the Department of Natural Resources. A little more than a decade later, in 1974, Judge Newman began a ten-year stint on the State Department Advisory Committee on International Intellectual Property. She also served on the advisory committee to the Domestic Policy Review of Industrial Innovation from 1978 to 1979 as well as Special Adviser to the United States Delegation to the Diplomatic Conference on the Revision of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
Prior to the recent attempts by CAFC Chief Judge Kimberly Moore to oust her from the court, Judge Newman has been perhaps best known for her regular and vocal dissents from panel majorities on cases decided by the Federal Circuit. A Fall 2012 article published in Indiana University Maurer School of Law’s IP Theory counted 369 dissenting opinions authored by Judge Newman compared to a total of 892 majority opinions she authored up to that point of her tenure on the Federal Circuit. However, she is equally famous for her many important opinions, which, along with her hundreds of well-reasoned and legally consistent dissents, are far too numerous to list here.
Throughout Judge Newman’s career, she has received many awards and distinctions, including the Wilbur Cross Medal of Yale University, the Vanderbilt Medal of New York University School of Law, the Jefferson Medal of the New Jersey Patent Law Association and the Award for Outstanding Contributions to International Cooperation of the Pacific Industrial Property Association. She also served as an adjunct faculty member at George Mason University, where she was a Distinguished Professor of Law. In 2023, IPWatchdog had the honor of inducting Judge Newman into the IPWatchdog Masters Hall of Fame during our LIVE Annual Meeting, where she received a standing ovation from the biggest names in IP.
In her remarks at the awards ceremony last year, Judge Newman had a message for those in attendance that hinted at the need for a possible “major upheaval” of the judicial system for IP rights. “If the time comes for another major look, and if need be, another major upheaval, in how we structure our Article III for the necessity of the nation, then let’s do it,” Newman said. She also encouraged those in the room not just to think about what the law is but “what the law should be, for the good of the nation, and all nations.” She thanked IPWatchdog’s Gene and Renee Quinn “in the most profound way” for their IP advocacy efforts through the years, and for the Hall of Fame induction.
One can only hope that the court is honoring Judge Newman as she deserves to be today and recognizing her 40 years of remarkable service and judicial proficiency.
Gene Quinn with Judge Pauline Newman of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Eileen McDermott
Eileen McDermott is the Editor-in-Chief of IPWatchdog.com. Eileen is a veteran IP and legal journalist, and no stranger to the intellectual property world, having held editorial and managerial positions at […see more]
