Conway Peyton Coe

Conway Peyton Coe
Coe in 1940
United States Commissioner of Patents
In office
June 2, 1933 – June 15, 1945
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman
Preceded byThomas E. Robertson
Succeeded byCasper W. Ooms
Personal details
Born(1897-10-21)October 21, 1897
Calvert County, Maryland, U.S.
DiedOctober 23, 1982(1982-10-23) (aged 85)
Chevy Chase, Maryland, U.S.
EducationRandolph–Macon College
George Washington University Law School

Conway Peyton Coe (October 21, 1897 – October 23, 1982), commonly cited as Conway P. Coe, was an American lawyer and government official who served as the United States Commissioner of Patents from 1933 to 1945.[1][2] Appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Coe led the Patent Office during the New Deal and World War II.[1] After leaving government service, he became vice president and head of the patent department at the Radio Corporation of America.[3]

Early life and education

Coe was born in Calvert County, Maryland, on October 21, 1897, and moved to the Washington, D.C., area early in life.[1] His obituary in The Washington Post identified his birthplace as Dunkirk, Maryland, and stated that he graduated from the old Central High School in Washington, D.C.[3]

Coe received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Randolph–Macon College.[1] He briefly worked as an assistant examiner at the Patent Office before leaving after five months to serve in the United States Army during World War I.[1] After the war, he worked for a rubber company and then returned to the Patent Office as an assistant examiner. While working at the office, he earned a law degree from George Washington University Law School.[1] The Washington Post described him as a 1923 graduate of the law school and a member of the Order of the Coif.[3]

In 1923, Coe left the Patent Office to join a law firm in Akron, Ohio.[1] He later returned to Washington, D.C., and opened his own law office.[1]

Commissioner of Patents

President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Coe commissioner of patents, and Coe entered service on June 2, 1933.[1] At age 35, he was one of the youngest people to head the Patent Office.[1]

During his first year as commissioner, Coe recommended increased hiring to reduce Patent Office backlogs and called for substantial work on the patent subject-matter classification system.[1] The USPTO credits his administration with later reductions in backlog and with devoting additional resources to classification. Coe also recommended a written examination for people seeking registration to represent clients before the Patent Office, a practice that began in 1934.[1]

Several notable patent-law and Patent Office developments occurred during Coe's tenure. In 1935, the office granted patent number 2,000,000 under the numbering system that began in 1836.[1] In 1936, Coe presided over the centennial celebration of the Patent Act of 1836. The Patent Office Society presented the office with a bronze bust of Thomas Jefferson, later displayed in the Lutrelle F. Parker Sr. Patent Search Facility at USPTO headquarters.[1]

In 1939, Congress amended the patent statute to shorten the two-year grace period for filing patent applications to one year and to create a board of interference examiners.[1] In 1940, responsibility for registering copyrights for labels and prints was transferred from the Patent Office to the Library of Congress.[1]

Coe's tenure also coincided with several important Supreme Court patent decisions. The USPTO identifies Cuno Engineering Corp. v. Automatic Devices Corp. as a 1941 decision associated with the so-called "flash of genius" test, later rejected by Congress in the Patent Act of 1952.[1] Other Supreme Court cases during his administration involved patent licenses, patent misuse, and antitrust issues, including General Talking Pictures Corp. v. Western Electric Co. (1938), Morton Salt Co. v. G.S. Suppiger Co. (1942), and United States v. Univis Lens Co. (1942).[1]

During World War II, much of the Patent Office moved to Richmond, Virginia, to make Washington office space available for the War and Navy departments, and the office's staff declined in size.[1] Coe also served during the war as a member of the National Defense Research Committee, executive secretary of the National Planning Committee, and manager of the National Inventors Council.[1][3] The Washington Post reported that he received awards from both the War and Navy departments at the end of the war.[3]

Coe resigned as commissioner on June 15, 1945.[1] The USPTO describes him as the third-longest-serving head of the Patent Office, after William Thornton and Thomas E. Robertson.[1]

Later career and death

After leaving the Patent Office, Coe became vice president and head of the patent department of the Radio Corporation of America, serving until his retirement in 1957.[1][3] He also served as an adjunct professor at George Washington University Law School.[3]

Coe was a member of the Cosmos Club, Chevy Chase Club, Congressional Country Club, and the Newcomen Society of North America.[1][3] He died of a heart ailment at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, on October 23, 1982, at the age of 85.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from Conway P. Coe. United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved May 8, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Past leaders of the USPTO". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved May 8, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Conway P. Coe, 85". The Washington Post. October 25, 1982. Retrieved May 8, 2026.
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