John Fitzgerald Duffy (born November 22, 1963)date & year of birth, full name according to LCNAF Cataloging in Publication data is Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is a legal commentator and author who has written numerous articles and co-authored a scholarly book on patent law. He previously served as a law clerk for Antonin Scalia, former associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and for Stephen F. Williams, on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Between these two assignments, he served as an attorney in the Office of Legal Counsel in the United States Department of Justice.
Duffy served as co-counsel for petitioner KSR in the U.S. Supreme Court case on the law of patent obviousness, KSR v. Teleflex.Brief for Petitioner, KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007) (No. 04-1350), 2006 WL 2515631.
Duffy was appointed as General Counsel for the United States Patent and Trademark Office in 2026.
Duffy received a Bachelor of Arts in physics from Harvard University in 1985 and was awarded a J.D. degree by the University of Chicago Law School in 1989. Duffy is a graduate of Holy Spirit High School in Absecon, New Jersey.
Patent reform Professor Duffy has called for the demonopolization of the US and other patent offices as a means for improving the efficiency and thoroughness of patent examination.Docs at BIO: Panel Offers Suggestions for Fixing the USPTO -- Updated May 20, 2009
Books (With Herz, Michael). A Guide to Judicial and Political Review of Federal Agencies. Chicago: American Bar Association, Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice, 2005. (with Merges, Robert Patrick). Patent Law and Policy: Cases and Materials. 4th ed.. Newark, NJ: LexisNexis, 2007.
See also Demonopolization List of law clerks for the ninth seat of the Supreme Court of the United States
References
External links University of Virginia faculty webpage American Law Institute elected member webpage