Bonum Certa Men Certa

Why Randall Rader Must Never Be Inside the USPTO, Let Alone the Patent Profession

This guy is "the swamp"

Randall R. Rader
Photo from Reuters



Summary: IAM 'magazine' helps promote a patent maximalist with scandals piled up around him in an attempt to propels him to a top USPTO position

AT the beginning of this year rumours began circulating that Rader was pursing (or being approached for) the Patent Office Director position. We have since then been writing about it and saw IAM promoting the lunacy. Rader's positions are bad on numerous fronts (he even defends/excuses patent trolls) and he brought nothing but disgrace to CAFC, which has (since his departure) finally cracked down on software patents. The patent microcosm has been busy attacking the current Director of the USPTO, Michelle Lee ([1, 2, 3, 4], and as one can expect IAM is promoting Rader, even though "he is a patent maximalist," as Benjamin Henrion told IAM after IAM had said: "I want the USPTO Director job ex-CAFC chief judge Rader tells IAM. But Big Tech will not be keen for him to get it."



Rader's history is worse than dubious. He's basically another Trump. IAM, being the patent maximalists' voice, is doing some marketing for Rader today and it looks like a coordinated effort. To quote:

Randall Rader, the outspoken former chief judge of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, has confirmed that he remains a candidate for the position of Director of the US Patent and Trademark Office in the new Trump administration, and that he has “the energy, experience, and ability to "make patents great again" as part of the campaign to "make America great again.””

In an email to IAM, Rader stated: “Few understand the international IP market as I do and can pursue the goal of protecting US IP worldwide. Few understand the inner workings of the USPTO as I do and understand ways to increase its efficiency and productivity.”


Shame that Rader doesn't realise what people think of IAM. Or maybe he knows but couldn't care less.

According to this new article from Patently-O, Rader's legacy includes this:

Early damages contentions has been pushed by former Chief Judge Rader for several years, with the intent of ensuring proportionality in litigation. The basic idea is that cases worth lots of money justify more ‘lawyering’ and thus may be tied to reasonable attorney fees collected in exceptional cases. The German approach is something like this. Of course US legal tradition does not require defendants (or plaintiffs) to settle cases and traditionally does not penalize them even when the lawyer fees exceed any expected payout.


This is litigation based on one's depth of pockets. In other words, this is the kind of "swamp" behaviour Trump has become so (in)famous for. This is the kind of thing IAM wants to impose on the world, or on the world's (almost) largest economy? What does that say about IAM?

Recent Techrights' Posts

Plot Twist: Microsoft MSN Relays Articles Hinting at or Pointing to Mass Layoffs Soon, Other Gossip
the narrative from Microsoft's "PR bunny" (Shaw) is showing mold already
'Vibe Coding' is Not "AI", It's a Sewer, It is Junk
Linus Torvalds was wrong. 'Vibe coding' isn't good for anything.
GNU/Linux May be Approaching 10% "Market Share" in Montenegro
The surge started around 2021
More IBM Layoffs in India
If IBM cannot afford to retain workers in India, then something is truly "out of control" at IBM
Dr. Richard Stallman Has Done No Harm to the GNU Project or the FSF (He Had Benefited Both, Always, Even After the Attacks on Him Began)
Some people try to prevent Dr. Stallman from speaking or having a platform where many people can hear him
Microsoft Isn't Denying the Mass Layoffs
Still silence from Microsoft
In Western Africa GNU/Linux Flirts With 5% Market Share
there's a gradual increase in GNU/Linux usage there
Gemini Links 09/01/2026: Pro1 X Repair and the Mercury Protocol
Links for the day
No, Microsoft Did Not Deny the Q1 Mass Layoffs (Microsoft Can Delay These)
Maybe they disperse or delay the layoffs (changing plans), but the layoffs are going to happen
 
IBM and Microsoft Hiding Layoffs in Similar, Overlapping Ways
Performance Improvement Plans aplenty
IBM is a Cancer That Attaches Itself to Everything
Red Hat should have remained an independent company
Links 10/01/2026: STV Layoffs (Scottish TV), “CBS Evening News” in Chaos (Culls and Censorship by the US Regime)
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, January 09, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, January 09, 2026
Gemini Links 10/01/2026: Blackout, E-Waste, and Secondary Smartphone
Links for the day
Links 09/01/2026: Google and Character.AI Implicitly Accept Chatbots Kill Kids and GLP-1 ‘Slimming Pens’ Turn Out to be a Lot Worse Than Advertised
Links for the day
At IBM, "Employee Reviews" (or Appraisals in the UK) Are a "Trojan Horse" for RAs (Mass Layoffs), a Waste of Time
comments from IBMer serve to suggest that appraisals can be precursors
Links 09/01/2026: Technical Blogging Lessons Learned and Google's Gmail Getting a Lot Worse
Links for the day
Escaping GAFAM Colonialism Requires Homegrown Free Software
GNU/Linux now measured at 3% in Zambia
GNU/Linux at 4% in Saudi Arabia, Says statCounter
Some years ago Windows fell to a "market share" of just 11% there
Links 09/01/2026: Cambodia and China Extradition, "NATO’s High-risk Patrols Near Ukraine"
Links for the day
Only One Person in Charge of Fedora is Not IBM Staff
This is not a community project, it's just a way for IBM to onboard unpaid volunteers
This Is Not a Drill, GNU/Linux is Really Going 'Mainstream' on Laptops (and Desktops)
It is important to explain to people software freedom
IBM Albany Layoffs
not only did many in the site lose their job; there's more to come "and likely another one in February" (weeks from now)
EPO Workers' Industrial Action to Include Many Strikes, to Last Several Months
In some ways, The Hague and Bavaria are becoming almost indistinguishable from Moscow
EPO People Power - Part XXIX - Getting DER SPIEGEL, FAZ, Deutschlandfunk and Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) to Cover EPO Scandals
We kindly ask our readers to contact their local media and urge it to cover the scandals
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, January 08, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, January 08, 2026
Gemini Links 08/01/2026: "New Year, Old Plans" and Alex's "Butlerian Jihad"
Links for the day
LLM Slop About "Linux" Scarce and of Very Low Quality
At this rate, we reckon there may be one (or zero) per day by year's end
IBM's "Forever Layoffs" (to Bypass Warnings or Notices as Required by WARN Act)
There is a bunch of speculations about when the next "major round" of RAs will be
Attempts to Undermine This Site's Latest Series Using Intimidation, Threats, and Presumptuous Accusations
threatening language is less effective when everyone is an alibi
Links 08/01/2026: "Golden Smartphone" Scam and Riseup Account Issues
Links for the day
Links 08/01/2026: Possible "Collapse of NATO Over Greenland"; Journalistic Malpractice and "US Voters Hate Slop"
Links for the day
EPO People Power - Part XXVIII - A Sensitive Issue for Germany and The Netherlands
If Germans who read this series can communicate this to public officials or to their media, maybe they can strike a nerve and get the ball rolling
Age Discrimination at IBM Discussed Amid Mass Layoffs (Especially in the United States)
Workers are anxious. Are they next to face the axe?
Gemini Links 08/01/2026: Potentiometer Calculator, Power Outages, Why You Should Abandon Discord for IRC (e.g. Ergo), and Formatting Gopher Posts
Links for the day
Links 08/01/2026: More Software Patents Squashed, White House Repeats Misinformation From the Kremlin
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, January 07, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, January 07, 2026