Arthur J. Gajarsa

Arthur Gajarsa
File:Arthur J. Gajarsa.jpg
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
In office September 12, 1997 – July 31, 2011
Appointed by	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Helen Nies
Succeeded by	Evan Wallach
Personal details
Born	(1941-03-01) March 1, 1941 Norcia, Italy
Alma mater	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Catholic University of America Georgetown University

Arthur Joseph Gajarsa (born 1941) is a former United States circuit judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Judge Arthur Gajarsa was born on March 1, 1941 in Norcia, Italy. He was the top ranked student in the 1958 graduating class at Boston Technical High School in Massachusetts. He matriculated at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, where he was admitted to the Zeta Psi fraternity, graduating in 1962 with a B.S. in electrical engineering. He then received a M.A. in economics from The Catholic University of America in 1964, and a J.D. from Georgetown University in 1967.

Judge Gajarsa began his career as a patent examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, served as a law clerk for Judge Joseph McGarraghy on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and worked as an attorney in the Department of Defense specializing in defense systems analysis and intellectual property rights. He also served as Special Counsel and Assistant to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior from 1969 to 1971. He was nominated for appointment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on January 7, 1997, by President Bill Clinton, was confirmed by the Senate on July 31, 1997, and entered service on September 12, 1997.

He has authored Recent Developments in Antitrust for the American Bar Association in 1967-69, and The European Common Market Antitrust Laws, Catholic University, 1967. He has also published numerous articles on economics and law.

On November 3, 2010, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute announced that he would replace Samuel F. Heffner as Chairman of the Board at the start of 2011.

Gajarsa took senior status, effective July 31, 2011. He retired outright on June 30, 2012.

In the fall of 2012, Gajarsa joined the University of New Hampshire School of Law as its first Distinguished Jurist-in-Residence at the Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property. In honor of Gajarsa, UNH Law co-founded the Arthur J. Gajarsa American Inn of Court, which is the newest member of the national Linn IP Inn Alliance. The Inn was launched in Concord, New Hampshire, on September 13, 2012.

Awards and honors

• Bausch and Lomb Medal, 1958
• Benjamin Franklin Award, Boston Technical High School, 1958
• JFK Award for Public Service, 1974
• Sun and Balance Medal, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1990
• Gigi Pieri Award, Camp Hale Association, Boston, MA, 1992
• Rensselaer Key Alumni Award, 1992
• 125th Anniversary Medal, Georgetown University Law Center, 1995
• Order of Commendatore, Republic of Italy, 1995
• Alumni Fellow Award, Rensselaer Alumni Association, 1996
• Albert Fox DeMers Medal, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1999
• Paul R. Dean Award, Georgetown University Law Center, 1999
• Lifetime Achievement in Jurisprudence & Italian American Leadership, Order Sons of Italy in America, 2009

External links

• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Board of Trustees
• Institute of Human Virology
• Arthur J. Gajarsa at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Georgetown Law

Legal offices
Preceded by Helen Nies	Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit 1997–2011	Succeeded by Evan Wallach