U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal CircuitcircuitRetired 1999 · served 1982–1999Appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican) 37 signed orders read
Judge Rich no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Rich decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Rich reversed obviousness rejections where the patent office failed to make out a prima facie case, declining to sustain a rejection the agency had not adequately supported.
Rich resolved each statutory ground of a patent rejection independently, reversing on one section while splitting the ruling on another rather than treating the rejection as a single unit.
“The § 112 rejection is affirmed in part and reversed in part.”
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Not applicable to this circuit-court record.
A historical record
Judge Rich no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.