John F. Duffy

John Fitzgerald Duffy (born November 22, 1963) is Professor of Law at University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is a Legal Commentator and Author who has written numerous articles and co-authored a scholarly book on Patent Law (listed at his University of Virginia faculty webpage below). He previously served as law clerk to Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and Stephen F. Williams, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Between these two assignments, he served as an attorney at the Office of Legal Counsel in the United States Department of Justice. In addition to clerking for Justice Scalia, John Duffy has been very influential in regard to constitutional law and the appointment of federal judges.
Duffy served as co-counsel for petitioner KSR in the U.S. Supreme Court case on the law of patent obviousness, KSR v. Teleflex.
Duffy received a B.A. in physics from Harvard University and was awarded a J.D. by the University of Chicago Law School. Duffy is a graduate of Holy Spirit High School in Absecon, New Jersey.

Professor Duffy has called for the demonopolization of the US and other patent offices as a means for improving the efficiency and thoroughness of patent examination.

• (With Herz, Michael). A Guide to Judicial and Political Review of Federal Agencies. Chicago: American Bar Association, Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice, 2005.
• (with Merges, Robert Patrick). Patent Law and Policy: Cases and Materials. 4th ed.. Newark, NJ: LexisNexis, 2007.