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Q. Todd Dickinson

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The Honorable[1]
Q Todd Dickinson
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
In office
November 1999 – January 2001
Preceded byBruce Lehman
Succeeded byJames E. Rogan
Acting Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks
In office
January – November 1999
Deputy Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks
In office
June – December 1998
Personal details
Born(1952-12-21)December 21, 1952
Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.[2]
DiedMay 3, 2020(2020-05-03) (aged 67)
Warrenton, Virginia, U.S.[2]
Spouse
Robert H. Atkins
​
(m. 2017)​
[1][2]
EducationAllegheny College (BS), University of Pittsburgh School of Law (JD)

Q Todd Dickinson (December 21, 1952 – May 3, 2020)[3] was an Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). He was an executive director of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), and had been mentioned by some sources for possible reappointment to his former post as director of the USPTO by the Barack Obama administration prior to the appointment of David Kappos to that post.[4]

Personal

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Dickinson was born in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, the eldest son of John and Martha Dickinson.[2] His legal first name is "Q", and is not an initial for a name beginning with said letter.[5]

Dickinson and his brother John grew up in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, graduating from Mt. Lebanon High School.[2] Dickinson and his husband Robert H. Atkins married in 2017, after a decade as partners, they lived in The Plains, Virginia.[2]

Early career

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Dickinson earned a B.S. degree in Chemistry from Allegheny College in 1974, and a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1977. He was a member of the Bars of Pennsylvania, California, and Illinois, and was registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.[3]

Dickinson began his legal career as a patent and trademark lawyer with Baxter Travenol Laboratories in Deerfield, Illinois, and then took a job with the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, law firm of Blenko, Buell, Ziesenheim and Beck. From 1981 to 1990, he served as counsel for Chevron Corporation in San Francisco, California, focusing on domestic and international intellectual property matters. Dickinson was a founding member of the Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom and served as a national governor of the Human Rights Campaign.[2]

In 1990, Dickinson moved to Philadelphia to be Chief Counsel for Intellectual Property and Technology at Sun Company, Inc., a post he would hold until 1995, when he joined the law firm of Dechert Price & Rhoads.[6] Dickinson was a founding master of the Benjamin Franklin Inn of Court, for intellectual property, in Philadelphia.[2] He was also a member of the Liberty City LGBT+ Democratic Club, the Pride of Philadelphia Election Committee, and the LGBTQ Bar Association.[2]

Career at the USPTO

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President Bill Clinton appointed Dickinson Deputy Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks in June 1998, and he became the Acting Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks on January 1, 1999, succeeding Bruce Lehman. Dickinson was nominated for Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks by President Clinton on July 31, 1999.[7] After confirmation by the Senate, Dickinson took the oath of office, on November 17, 1999, as Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks.[3]

In 1999, Congress passed the American Inventors Protection Act, which changed the office and titles to Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Dickinson served as the first Under Secretary and director of the USPTO, until January 2001.[8]

After the USPTO

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After leaving the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Dickinson joined the Washington, D.C., office of Howrey Simon Arnold & White, becoming co-chair of its intellectual property practice.[9] He then joined General Electric as Vice President & Chief Intellectual Property Counsel.[10] On September 1, 2008, he was named executive director of the American Intellectual Property Law Association.[11] He remained in that AIPLA position until July 2014, when he resigned.[12] In March 2015, he joined Novak Druce Connolly Bove + Quigg LLP as Global Chair of its Client Select Strategic Services Group.[13]

In 2012, Dickinson was inducted into the Intellectual Property Hall of Fame by Intellectual Asset Management magazine.[14] In the Spring of 2016, he joined Polsinelli along with 43 other attorneys from Novak Druce and became a senior partner in its intellectual property practice.[15][16]

Death and legacy

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Dickinson died May 3, 2020, of respiratory failure at a hospital in Warrenton, Virginia.[2][17] Andrei Iancu, then serving as Director of the USPTO, said in a statement that "Todd was immensely knowledgeable and influential in the intellectual property community. He was a warm person and a great friend to many".[18]

References

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  1. ^ a b Iancu, Andrei (May 5, 2020). "Statement from Director Andrei Iancu on the loss of former USPTO Director Q Todd Dickinson". United States Patent and Trademark Office.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cook, Bonnie L. (May 18, 2020). "Q Todd Dickinson, lawyer who led U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, dies at 67". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  3. ^ a b c USPTO. "Q Todd Dickinson". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  4. ^ Viana, Liza Porteus (November 14, 2008). "Doll Is New Deputy At USPTO; More Changes On The Way". Intellectual Property Watch. Retrieved November 17, 2008.
  5. ^ "'A Life Well Lived': Remembering Q Todd Dickinson". IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Patent Law. May 6, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  6. ^ USPTO. "Biography of Q Todd Dickinson". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008.
  7. ^ Press Release: #99-19 (July 6, 1999). "President Clinton Nominates Todd Dickinson to Top Post at USPTO". United States Patent and Trademark Office.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ IPFrontline (August 14, 2008). "Former USPTO Director Named Executive Director of AIPLA". Archived from the original on May 30, 2012.
  9. ^ "Patent Office Chief Takes Government Contacts to Howrey". ManagingIP. Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. April 29, 2001. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
  10. ^ "Biography: Q Todd Dickinson". Intellectual Property Owners Association. Archived from the original on October 5, 2007.
  11. ^ Wild, Joff (September 9, 2008). "Dickinson relishing his AIPLA role". Intellectual Asset Management magazine. Retrieved November 17, 2008.
  12. ^ Quinn, Gene (July 14, 2014). "Todd Dickinson Leaves AIPLA". IP Watchdog. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  13. ^ Quinn, Gene (March 9, 2015). "Former USPTO Director Q Todd Dickinson Joins Novak Druce". IP Watchdog. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  14. ^ "Q Todd Dickinson". iphalloffame.com. IP Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  15. ^ Polsinelli PC (March 1, 2016). "Polsinelli Adds 44 Attorneys to its IP Practice, Now One of the Nation's Largest". Polsinelli LLP. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  16. ^ Polsinelli PC. "Q Todd Dickinson bio". Polsinelli LLP. Archived from the original on October 20, 2018.
  17. ^ Bultman, Matthew (May 5, 2020). "Former PTO Director, Q Todd Dickinson, Dies At 67". Bloomberg News. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  18. ^ Cook, Bonnie L. (May 18, 2020). "Q Todd Dickinson, lawyer who led U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, dies at 67". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
[edit]
Political offices
Preceded by Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks
1999 – 2000 		Succeeded by
N/A
Preceded by
N/A
 Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property
2001 		Succeeded by
Government offices
Preceded by Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
1999 – 2001 		Succeeded by
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