Press Release
October 15, 2010 - John A. Reilly, a long-time Kenyon partner and a giant of the patent litigation bar, died on October 7, 2010, at the age of 91. John was with the firm from 1948 to 1979. The highlight of his distinguished career was his representation of the inventor in the celebrated case of United States v. Adams, 383 U.S. 39 (1966), one of the Supreme Court’s “trilogy” (which included Graham v. John Deere Co., decided the same day) that interpreted for the first time the “obviousness” standard of § 103 of the patent statute. The Adams patent covered a water- activated battery that was issued to World War II pilots as part of their survival equipment. John demonstrated the operation of the battery during his oral argument, something unheard of in Supreme Court practice, by nonchalantly pouring water from counsel’s pitcher into the battery, causing the attached bulb to light up. The Court upheld the patent’s validity. At the time, it was the first patent the Court had sustained against a prior art attack in many years, and it remains the last such patent.
About Kenyon & Kenyon LLP
Kenyon & Kenyon is consistently ranked by peers and in-house counsel as one of the top firms for intellectual property law. Since its founding in 1879, the firm has provided its worldwide clientele with litigation, prosecution, licensing and counseling services. Large and small enterprises and individuals choose Kenyon to design and implement intellectual property strategies when it matters most. The firm has offices in New York, Washington, DC, and Silicon Valley.