Richard G. Taranto — Federal Circuit Nominee

taranto1Richard G. Taranto is the most recent nominee for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  His nomination replaces that of Edward C. DuMont who recently asked to have his nomination withdrawn, after waiting eighteen months for the Senate Judiciary Committee to schedule a hearing on his nomination.

The press release from the White House on Mr. Taranto’s nomination reads as follows:

Richard Gary Taranto: Nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Richard Gary Taranto is a partner at the two-person law firm of Farr & Taranto, located in Washington, D.C. He has argued 19 cases before the Supreme Court of the United States and has extensive experience litigating intellectual property and patent cases before both the Federal Circuit and the Supreme Court.

Taranto was born in New York City. He received a B.A. summa cum laude in 1977 from Pomona College in Claremont, California. He then attended Yale Law School, where he served as an Article and Book Editor on the Yale Law Journal and obtained his J.D. in 1981. Upon his graduation from law school, Taranto clerked for the Honorable Abraham Sofaer of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The following year, from 1982 to 1983, he clerked for the Honorable Robert Bork of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He then clerked, from 1983 to 1984, for the Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor of the Supreme Court of the United States.

In 1984, Taranto joined the firm of Onek, Klein & Farr, in Washington, D.C. He left the firm in 1986 to spend three years as an Assistant to the Solicitor General in the Office of the Solicitor General of the United States Department of Justice. In 1989, Taranto returned to Onek, Klein & Farr as a partner. In 1991, he became a named partner at the firm, which has been known as Farr & Taranto since 1994.

Taranto has taught a course on patent law at Harvard Law School and several courses on different topics at the Georgetown University Law Center. He has also served, since 2009, as a member of the Appellate Rules Advisory Committee for the United States Judicial Conference.

You can listen to Mr. Taranto argue a Federal Circuit case concerning a transgenic corn plant modified to produce insecticidal proteins here: [Syngenta Seeds v. Monsanto] (beginning at about the 14:40 minute mark).

You can listen to Mr. Taranto argue a Federal Circuit case relating to voice over IP (VOIP) telephony here: [Verizon Svcs. v. Vonage Hlds.] (beginning at about the 23:52 minute mark).

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