Foreword

On the morning of July 22, 2011, many friends and admirers of Chief Judge Rader gathered at the University of Washington’s High Technology Protection Summit to focus on the Chief Judge’s many important opinions written during his more than 20 years on the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The morning consisted of two lengthy sessions following a keynote speech by a former student of mine, now a very experienced patent judge, the Honorable Marilyn L. Huff. The morning concluded with an address by the President of the University of Washington, Michael K. Young. Because President Young was instrumental in making the Chief Judge a permanent member of The George Washington University Law School faculty, his talk was the perfect capstone to the morning’s events.

Much of the afternoon was focused on Chief Judge Rader’s influence on the patent laws of countries other than the United States. Many of the speakers were kind enough to prepare formal remarks for the conference, and these papers form the basis for this festschrift.