Utynam's Heirs
01 September 2008
A monthly column devoted to IP curiosities and controversies, named in honour of John of Utynam - who received the world's first recorded patent in 1449
diary@managingip.com
French humour
Lawyers often have difficulty dealing with the whims of judges, so IP practitioners in Australia may be worried to find out that the new chief justice of the High Court once described them as "lonely people" who "have to invent imaginary, but boring friends".
Fortunately, Justice French was referring to friends like "a skilled worker who lacks imagination and is comfortable only with the obvious" and his comments were part of a witty speech that French (then a Federal Court judge) gave to the Western Australia Chapter of the Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand.
French, who is experienced in handling IP cases, told his audience that he decided to become a lawyer after being told in his final year at university: "You express yourself magnificently...
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