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Bob Hughes graduated from Seattle University in 1955 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering, and from the University of Washington Law School in 1958. He was admitted to practice in the State of Washington and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in that same year. He has specialized in intellectual property law since then, spending nine years on the patent staffs of two major U.S. corporations (General Mills in Minneapolis and The Boeing Company in Seattle). He has been in private practice since 1970.
Bob has long been active in the legal community. He is a past president of the Seattle Patent Law Association, past president of the Washington State Patent Law Association, past president of the Washington State Intellectual Property Law Association, and past president of the Whatcom County Bar Association. He has also served on various Washington State Bar committees.
In 1978, Bob developed a concept for a preventive law program for the general business attorney to identity potential legal problems early enough to take remedial action, and also to provide a "legal fitness program" for business clients. In 1979, he signed a contract with Clark Boardman Callaghan and Company to publish the book, and he recruited specialists in various areas of business law to contribute chapters covering a broad spectrum of business activities. He coordinated the project and served as managing editor. The three volume work (now four volumes) was published in 1985 as Legal Compliance Checkups: Business Clients. This is reputed to be the most comprehensive work now in existence on preventive law for business clients.
While Mr. Hughes still limits his practice to Intellectual Property matters, his participation in all aspects of Legal Compliance Checkups has given him a broad perspective of the potential problems in other business areas. It also helps him understand and discuss with general practicing attorneys and their clients legal matters where Intellectual Property issues and general business issues overlap. His broad experience in the business aspects of Intellectual Property law includes licensing, joint ventures in developing and exploiting technology and structuring other business relationships. In most instances, this requires close coordination with the client’s general legal counsel. Also, Mr. Hughes maintains contacts with legal specialists in various specialized areas of law to find solutions for some of the more obscure legal problems.
A substantial part of the practice includes all aspects of trademark law, U.S. and foreign. The technical areas of the Hughes Law Firm practice include the broad range of mechanical inventions, electrical and electrical magnetic related inventions, industrial processes, etc., ranging from complex high tech systems to very simple and often interesting gadgets and gismos.
In his six years on The Boeing Company patent staff, Bob administered the patent review committee and became familiar with virtually every technology in the aerospace industry. Since leaving Boeing, he has continued as outside counsel for Boeing in such areas as aerodynamics, structures, avionics, manufacturing processes, materials technology, jet engine (subsonic, supersonic, and hypersonic), and subsystems of modern aircraft.
In addition, he has done patent work for space vehicles and missiles involving propulsion, guidance and stabilizing systems, cryogenic fluids, waste disposal, solar energy, and other technological fields. He has also handled many electronics projects involving audio amplifiers, speakers, FM and AM systems, electrical power supplies, preamplifiers, and audio enhancement and other devices. He also has experience in pulp and paper technology, pollution control, processing natural resources, etc.
In his three years at General Mills, Bob dealt with food compositions and food processing. He has extensive experience in foreign patent and trademark practice, particularly in European countries and Japan. He has traveled to both Japan and Europe to argue cases before the Japanese and European Patent Offices and he has successfully argued a case before the Board of Appeals of the Japanese Patent Office.
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