Jeffery B. Fromm

FROMM JEFFERY B. FROMM (Age 61) Of Los Gatos, CA, and Breckenridge, CO, died October 9, 2008, at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose after his battle with kidney cancer. Jeff graduated with a BA in physics and a BS in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1970 and then joined Hewlett-Packard Company as a research and development engineer. He attended the Delaware Law School at Widener University where he was a Casenote Editor, and a member of the Law Review and Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity. In 1981 he earned his JD, graduating magna cum laude. Jeff worked as a patent attorney for HP, holding a number of positions in its CA, MA, and CO offices prior to retiring as Senior Managing Council in 2002. He then practiced intellectual property, commercial transaction support, and patent law at the firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP until he returned to HP in 2006. Jeff was HP‘s Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Director of Intellectual Property and was responsible for the company‘s worldwide intellectual property legal strategy, including patents, copyrights, and trademarks. He also managed the Intellectual Property Section of its legal department worldwide. Jeff retired from HP at the end of 2007. Jeff was admitted to the State Bars of PA, CA, and CO and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Court. He was especially proud to be a registered attorney with the US Patent and Trademark Office. Jeff belonged to the American Bar Association, the PA, CA, and CO Bar Associations, the Association of Corporate Patent Counsel, and the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineering. Jeff authored many law articles and testified before Congress on the need for patent reform and on the convergence of intellectual property and antitrust law in the area of standards and standard setting organizations. He was a pioneer in the law of open source operating system software. Jeff was passionate about his life. He enjoyed skiing, golfing, traveling, the outdoors and lively discussions. He was never shy about sharing his opinions, his wisdom, or his unique sense of humor. In addition, Jeff was involved in the Rotary Club and the Boy Scouts of America. More than anything else Jeff loved his family and was a devoted and beloved husband and father. He inspired everyone who knew him. He is survived by Ellen, his wife of 37 years, of Los Gatos, CA; two sons, Aaron of Boulder, CO and David of Palo Alto, CA; mother, Frances of Alexandria, VA; sisters, Barbara and Elaina; and daughter-in-law Kate. The family will have a private burial service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the National Kidney Foundation or the American Cancer Society.