Judge Newman Gets Standing Ovations During Induction into IPWatchdog Masters Hall of Fame; Presents First Ever Pauline Newman Award

Judge Pauline Newman, who is currently in the midst of a very public fight with the Chief Judge of her court, received two lengthy standing ovations at IPWatchdog LIVE on Monday as she accepted her induction into the IPWatchdog Masters Hall of Fame, and also presented the inaugural Pauline Newman Award to Henry Hadad of Bristol-Myers Squibb.

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.

The IPWatchdog Masters Hall of Fame was created in December 2022. Its inductees now include the Honorable Paul Michel, Retired Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC); Sherry Knowles of Knowles Intellectual Property Strategies; Phil Johnson, Chair of the Steering Committee for the Coalition for 21st Century Patent Reform and retired Senior Vice President, Intellectual Property Policy & Strategy of Johnson & Johnson’s Law Department; Bob Stoll, former USPTO Commissioner for Patents and currently Partner and Co-Chair of the IP Group at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath; and the late Q. Todd Dickinson, who served as USPTO Director from 1999 to 2001 and was inducted posthumously earlier this year.

Following the packed room’s second standing ovation for Newman, IPWatchdog Founder and CEO Gene Quinn said with thinly veiled criticism of Newman’s recent treatment by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: “That is what Judge Newman deserves; she deserves a parade.”

Renee Quinn, Henry Hadad and Gene Quinn

Henry Hadad: Pauline Newman Award Recipient

The Pauline Newman Award was created with the blessing of Judge Newman and will be given each year to recognize the unique achievements of one patent attorney. The award recognizes a patent attorney who has achieved at the highest levels, including excellence, influence, integrity, vision and wisdom—all characteristics commonly associated with the award’s namesake, Judge Newman.

The first ever award went to Hadad, who is Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Bristol-Myers Squibb. Hadad is uniquely deserving of the award, having risen to a high ranking leadership position at a Fortune 500 company, and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world; serving as President of the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO), and now on the IPO Board of Directors, and an active member of numerous other IP organizations.

In his acceptance speech, Hadad said that the United States has recently “been treading in dangerous waters” when it comes to democratic principles and global IP protection. Hadad said:

“If democratic values give us the freedom to innovate, our IP systems give us the economic prosperity that upholds those very same democratic values. And like democracy, our IP system is fragile. We as stewards of this system have a responsibility to ensure that IP rights are sufficiently strong to fuel future innovation.”

Upon accepting the first Pauline Newman Award, Hadad remarked, “I’m extremely honored to even be mentioned in the same sentence as Judge Newman. She’s been a trailblazer all her life. From the very beginning, she got it.”