Vacuum Tubes and 50K -- Bob's first introduction to computers came in 1966 as a U.S. Air Force Division Information Specialist for a computerized Air Defense Command unit outside of Phoenix, Arizona. The unit was constructed around two SAGE computers, each of which had 58,000 vacuum tubes. A major event for the unit was the delivery of the first magnetic core memory unit, which had a 50K capacity - and was contained in a large, glass-enclosed box, four feet square, and eight feet high. 

Technology has changed a bit in the last 30 years, and Bob has not only watched it happen, he has been involved in the changes.

Meteorology and Measurement -- The Air Force sent Bob to the University of Utah in 1967, where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Meteorology in 1969. He was a member of Chi Epsilon Pi, the National Meteorological Honorary Society. While at the University, he designed and implemented a meteorological instrument course to teach students how the various electronic instruments sense pressure, temperature and wind velocity. He earned a commission as second lieutenant in the Air Force in 1969. Bob's first duty station as an officer was at the Air Force Special Weapons Center at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Bob worked as a forecaster at the base weather station and as staff weather officer at the Weapons Center. He designed and supervised the construction of a mile-long meteorological sensing range to measure the effects of high-powered gas lasers on the atmosphere. 

From New Mexico, Bob was assigned to Guam, and served as a Weather Reconnaissance Weather Officer on WC-130 aircraft for two years. The main task of the 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron was typhoon reconnaissance in the western Pacific, however, the unit had two weather modification tasks, one in Southeast Asia, and the other a cold-fog dispersal mission in Alaska. Bob spent the next four years at Langley AFB in Virginia, where he flew as airborne staff weather officer on the Tactical Air Command flying command post during fighter aircraft deployments around the world. 

Bob left the Air Force in 1977 to work for Western Airlines at corporate headquarters in Los Angeles, California, as a meteorologist-flight planner, forecasting enroute weather throughout the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii and Mexico, and selecting the routes that company aircraft would take to optimize flight comfort and fuel economy.

Admitted to the Oregon State Bar in 1982 -- In 1979, Bob began law school at Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College, graduating with a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree in 1982. He began his legal career as an associate with the Portland firm of Kolisch, Hartwell and Dickinson, P.C., where he stayed until starting his own practice in 1994. Bob was admitted to the Oregon State Bar in 1982, the United States Patent Office bar in 1984; the United States District Court bar, District of Oregon in 1983; the United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit in 1983; and the United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit in 1984.

Current Practice -- Bob's law practice is restricted to intellectual property, including patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret and technology licensing. He has participated in litigation, in cases including Pacemaker Diagnostic Clinic of America, Inc. v. Instromedix, Inc., United States Supreme Court (issue as to whether magistrates could enter final judgments in matters certified to them); Analogy, Inc. v. Mentor Graphics, Inc. and Anacad GmBH, District Court Oregon (patent infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets dispute which included enforcement of four patents, two of which Bob wrote for Analogy, Inc. Case settled.)

Professional Activities -- Bob has been active with the Oregon State Bar Intellectual Property Section and Computer Law section and has been involved with numerous continuing legal education activities: 

• Taxation of Intellectual Property, 1988 (organizer and panel moderator) 
• Ethical Issues in Intellectual Property, 1990 (organizer and panel moderator) 
• Technology, Ethics, and The Law, 1993 (organizer) 
• Acquiring And Protecting Intellectual Property Rights In Multimedia Presentation, 1996 (author and speaker) 
• The Oregon State Bar Computer Law Handbook, Vol. I, 1992 (editor), 1996 supplement (editor), Vol. II, 1998 (author). 

Personal History -- Bob was born in Portland, Oregon in 1944. He graduated from Grant high school in 1962 and began attending Portland State College, majoring in science. In 1966, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and was assigned to the Division Information Office for a computerized Air Defense Command unit outside of Phoenix, Arizona. 

Bob has been married to Trudy Allen for more than 30 years. The two met in the Air Force and attended law school together: they were married before entering law school, they remained married during law school, and are still married! Trudy is General Counsel for U.S. Bankcorp Leasing & Financial in Tualatin, Oregon. 

When Bob isn't working, he can usually be found on his fishing boat, racing scull, or hiking trails in the Northwest.  These activities usually involve a video camera.

© 2007 Robert D. Varitz, P.C. Attorney at Law. All rights reserved.