We are saddened to note the death of our retired partner Iain Baillie at the age of eighty-eight.
Iain was well-known worldwide as an inimitable patent attorney for his contributions to debates on difficult aspects of intellectual property law. A letter he wrote to the London Times was even referred to by a former British Prime Minister in a debate on copyright protection in the House of Lords.
Iain was a graduate of Glasgow University in Scotland with a degree in chemistry and he qualified as a Chartered Patent Agent in the United Kingdom before moving to the United States where he joined our firm’s New York Office in 1961. After obtaining his law degree from Fordham University’s School of Law, he became a partner in the firm in July 1969. One of Iain’s main tasks while in our New York Office, was the handling of most of the international filing and prosecution of patent applications for a major U.S. pharmaceutical company.
In 1976, Iain returned to the United Kingdom to head-up our London Office and the scope of his activities expanded to all aspects of intellectual property law. He was a prolific writer of articles in the field and was for many years a member of the publications committee of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys.
Within the firm, Iain was for many years a member of our Management Committee where his common sense approach to the difficult questions was highly valued. In London, current and former employees have lauded his skill in mentoring younger members of our staff.
He will be missed.