The IPWatchdog Masters™ Hall of Fame was launched in October 2022. Inductees are honored as a tribute to their long histories of service to strengthening and protecting U.S. IP rights. What makes the IPWatchdog HOF unique is the focus on real IP professionals and not those who have generalized fame. We honor those who have really impacted the IP community. People who not only contribute to the field, but who also help set the debate—real thought leaders and industry icons who take the time to participate. Below are the bios of those included in the Hall of Fame, in inverse order of the date of induction.

2026

Hon. David Kappos is widely recognized as one of the world’s foremost leaders in the field of intellectual property, including intellectual property management and strategy, the development of global intellectual property norms, laws and practices as well as commercialization and enforcement of innovation-based assets.

From 2009 to 2013, Mr. Kappos served as Under Secretary of Commerce and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and prior to that he was IBM’s chief intellectual property lawyer. Today he serves as co-Chair of Cravath’s Intellectual Property Practice, and also as co-Chairman of the Board for the Council for Innovation Partnership (C4IP).

Mr. Kappos has received numerous accolades, including, among others, the 2014 Global Agenda Council Vision Award for the Intellectual Property Council’s pro bono initiative from the World Economic Forum, the 2014 Jefferson Medal from the New Jersey Intellectual Property Law Association (NJIPLA), the 2013 Board of Director’s Excellence Award from the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). He was also honored as the inaugural recipient of IPWatchdog’s Paul Michel Award in 2021. Mr. Kappos was also named one of the “Top 25 Icons of IP” by Law360, one of the “50 Most Influential People in Intellectual Property” and the “Outstanding Practitioner of the Year in IP Transactions” by Managing IP, one of the “Top 50 Intellectual Property Trailblazers & Pioneers” and one of the “100 Most Influential Lawyers in America” by The National Law Journal.

Read Kappos’ full bio here.

Joseph Allen is regarded as the preeminent expert on the Bayh-Dole Act specifically, and university technology transfer generally. Allen served on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for Senator Birch Bayh (D-IN) securing passage of the landmark Bayh-Dole Act, which fosters R&D partnerships between universities and U.S. industry. It is no stretch to say that throughout his career he has been the strongest supporter and loudest defender of Bayh-Dole.

After leaving the Senate staff, Joe became Executive Director of Intellectual Property Owners, Inc. (IPO), and then the Director of the Office of Technology Commercialization at the Department of Commerce where he oversaw Executive branch implementation of the Bayh-Dole and Federal Technology Transfer Acts and related presidential policy directives. Today Joe is the Executive Director of the Bayh-Dole Coalition, a non-profit organization composed of universities, companies, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and others who are committed to protecting the Bayh-Dole Act.

Read Allen’s full bio here.

2024

James Pooley is one of the world’s foremost experts in trade secret law and management, and his career as a sought-after advisor, IP litigator, and information security expert spans over 50 years. His many leadership roles include his tenure as president of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) and as chairman of the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

On the international stage, Mr. Pooley served as Deputy Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva from December 2009 to November 2014, where he was responsible for the international patent system.

Upon returning to Silicon Valley, Mr. Pooley completed “Secrets: Managing Information Assets in the Age of Cyberespionage” (Verus Press, 2015). The book is a clarion call for both lawyers and business executives about the increasing difficulty of keeping corporate information private in a hyperconnected world. It has garnered praise from those in the tech world. Due to the popularity of the first edition of the book, Mr. Pooley released the second edition of Secrets in 2024, containing substantive updates related to artificial intelligence, CoVID-19, the trade war with China, and the passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act. The book has also been fully translated in Mandarin and published by Tsinghua University Press.

Read Pooley’s full bio here.

2023

Hon. Pauline Newman needs no introduction to anyone in the intellectual property community. She was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 1984. Since then she has authored thousands of opinions, hundreds of dissents, and has undeniably place her stamp on U.S. patent law for over four decades. She is also beloved by the industry, evidenced by the two lengthy standing ovations at IPWatchdog LIVE 2023 when she accepted her induction into the IPWatchdog Masters™ Hall of Fame.

Prior to joining the Federal Circuit, from 1982 to 1984, Judge Newman was Special Adviser to the United States Delegation to the Diplomatic Conference on the Revision of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. She also served on the advisory committee to the Domestic Policy Review of Industrial Innovation from 1978 to 1979 and on the State Department Advisory Committee on International Intellectual Property from 1974 to 1984. From 1969 to 1984, Judge Newman served as director, Patent, Trademark and Licensing Department, FMC Corp. From 1961 to 1962 she worked for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as a science policy specialist in the Department of Natural Sciences. She served as patent attorney and house counsel of FMC Corp. from 1954 to 1969 and as research scientist, American Cyanamid Co. from 1951 to 1954. Judge Newman received a B.A. from Vassar College in 1947, an M.A. from Columbia University in 1948, a Ph.D. from Yale University in 1952 and an LL.B. from New York University School of Law in 1958.

Read Newman’s full bio here.

Hon. Randall R. Rader started his storied judicial career when he was appointed to the United States Claims Court (now the U. S. Court of Federal Claims) by President Ronald W. Reagan in 1988. Shortly thereafter, in 1990, Judge Rader was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit by President George H. W. Bush. He assumed the duties of Chief Circuit Judge on June 1, 2010, and then subsequently retired from the bench on June 30, 2014.

Judge Rader tells many that he most prized title may well be “Professor Rader.” As a Professor, he has taught courses on patent law and other advanced intellectual property courses literally all over the world. He has taught at George Washington University Law School, University of Virginia School of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, the Munich Intellectual Property Law Center, and other university programs in Tokyo, Taipei, New Delhi, and Beijing. Due to the size and diversity of his classes, Chief Judge Rader may have taught patent law to more students than anyone else ever.

Read Judge Rader’s full bio here.

Hon. Todd Dickinson was a force of nature, and friend to so many in the intellectual property community. During President Clinton’s second term he served as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Todd possessed an in-depth knowledge of the USPTO and its practices, as well as an uncommon perspective on all facets of U.S. and international IP practice and policy. Sadly, Todd passed away unexpectedly on May 3, 2020, at the age of 67, of respiratory failure.

During his more than 35-year career, Todd also served as Chief IP Counsel for two Fortune 50 companies, with overall corporate responsibility for all IP, including the management of extensive patent and trademark portfolios. This senior-level in-house experience gave him an intimate understanding of the issues, problems and budget challenges facing corporate counsel. He also served as the Executive Director of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), where he played a key role in the drafting and passage of the America Invents Act and the subsequent PTO rules, including all aspects of post-grant review.

Read Dickinson’s full bio here.

Bob Stoll has had a distinguished career in the patent field for more than 40 years. He is currently the President of Stoll Patent Consulting & Expert Testimony where he applies his years of experience in intellectual property prosecution to advising clients on protecting inventions and the complexities of foreign and domestic intellectual property laws.

A former Commissioner for Patents at the USPTO, Stoll has been recognized as an outstanding intellectual property lawyer by Chambers, USA, Best Lawyers in America, IAM Patent 1000, World IP Forum, Managing Intellectual Property Magazine, Who’s Who Legal, and the National Law Journal, among other organizations and publications. He also served for nine years on the Advisory Council for the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and on the Board of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), where he currently participates on multiple committees.

Read Stoll’s full bio here.

2022

Hon. Paul Michel needs no introduction to anyone in the IP realm. was appointed to the Federal Circuit in March of 1988 by President Ronald Reagan and assumed the duties of Chief Judge on December 25, 2004. Judge Michel stepped down from the bench on May 31, 2010, after serving more than 22 years on the court. During his tenure with the CAFC, he judged thousands of appeals and wrote over 800 opinions, approximately one-third of which were in patent cases.

Perhaps just as impressive as his storied career as a judge and chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has been his tireless commitment to dedicating his retirement to educating policymakers and courts on the importance of upholding a strong IP system to U.S. competitiveness and national security. Since leaving the Federal Circuit he has been the author of countless op-eds, articles and amicus briefs, he has testified before Congress, and he has joined organizations dedicated to countering anti-IP narratives and generally has been a true champion of IP rights.

Read Judge Michel’s full bio here.

Sherry Knowles is an icon in the patent world. As Senior Vice President and Chief Patent Counsel at GlaxoSmithKline from 2006-2010, Knowles played a key role in the case of GlaxoSmithKline and Tafas v. Dudas, when GSK became the first and only company in the United States to file a lawsuit to challenge the Final Rules on Claims and Continuations practice published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on August 7, 2007. During the course of the litigation, 20 amicus briefs were filed by parties in support of GSK and Dr. Tafas. The litigation concluded in October 2009, when former USPTO Director David Kappos made the decision to withdraw the contested regulations and GSK agreed to join with the USPTO in a motion to dismiss all litigation.

Since leaving GSK, Knowles has continued to be a thought leader and advocate for IP rights. She is currently the Principal of Knowles Intellectual Property Strategies and continues to write and speak out on issues of importance to the IP community. Knowles has been recognized numerous times as one of the most influential people in the IP community—including being recognized as one of the top 10 most influential people in the IP world. She also launched the Knowles Educational and Charitable Trust for International Leadership (KECTIL), a nonprofit whose mission is “to identify and nurture highly talented youth in developing countries who have the potential to make a positive difference in their communities and countries.”

Read Knowles’ full bio here.

Phil Johnson was for two decades one of the preeminent patent litigators in America. Johnson then transitioned into the corporate world and became one of the leading in-house attorneys, and a prominent voice for the patent system throughout the years.

Johnson joined Johnson & Johnson as Chief Patent Counsel in 2000 and ended his 17-year tenure with the company in 2017 as Senior Vice President, Intellectual Property Policy & Strategy, Law Department. He also has served as Chair of the Steering Committee for the Coalition for 21st Century Patent Reform since 2019, an organization that was integral to negotiations on the America Invents Act and today continues to be active in legislative and policy developments around U.S. patent reform. Johnson has also been an active member of the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) for years and has held many positions with the organization and has also been an active member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Sedona Conference WG10 biopharmaceutical patent litigation project, a member of the board of the Monell Chemical Senses Center, INTERPAT, the Association of Corporate Patent Counsel, and PhRMa. He has frequently testified before both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees about patent law reform and, more recently, abusive patent litigation.

Read Johnson’s full bio here.