Robert Mahealani Ming Seto (born Robert Ming Seto, May 12, 1936) is a law professor and a former judge of the

United States Court of Federal Claims The United States Court of Federal Claims (in case citations, Fed. Cl. or C.F.C.) is a United States federal courts, United States federal court that hears monetary claims against the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government. It ...

from 1982 to 1987. Born in

Canton, China Guangzhou, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about northwest of Hong Kong and north of Macau, Guangzhou has a history of over 2, ...

, Seto received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

from

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...

in 1962, and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

Saint Louis University School of Law The Saint Louis University School of Law (also known as SLU Law) is the law school affiliated with Saint Louis University, a private Jesuit research university in Saint Louis, Missouri. The school has been American Bar Association approved sin ...

in 1968. He later received a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

in government contract law from the

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in Washington, D. ...

.Regent University School of Law page on Robert M. M. Seto
Seto was an assistant circuit attorney for the Felony Division of St. Louis, Missouri from 1968 to 1969, then became

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

counsel to Monsanto Chemical Co. from 1969 to 1970, and deputy corporation counsel in the Division of Legal Memorandums and Opinions for the City and County of

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, from 1970 to 1971. Seto then held several staff positions in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

, serving as Republican minority counsel to the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging from 1971 to 1973, then as legislative counsel to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Naturalization of the

U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nomi ...

in 1974, and then chief patent counsel to U.S. Senator

Hiram Fong Hiram Leong Fong (born Yau Leong Fong; October 15, 1906 – August 18, 2004) was an American businessman, lawyer, and politician from Hawaii. Born to a Cantonese immigrant sugar plantation worker, Fong was one of the first two senators for Hawai ...

of Hawaii, for the Subcommittee on Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, from 1975 to 1976. Seto was a senior patent litigation attorney for the

United States International Trade Commission The United States International Trade Commission (USITC or I.T.C.) is an agency of the United States federal government that advises the legislative and executive branches on matters of trade. It was created by Congress in 1916 as the U.S. Tari ...

from 1976 to 1981. He became a trial judge of the

United States Court of Claims The Court of Claims was a federal court that heard claims against the United States government. It was established in 1855, renamed in 1948 to the United States Court of Claims (), and abolished in 1982. Then, its jurisdiction was assumed by the n ...

in 1981, and on October 1, 1982 he was elevated by

operation of law The phrase "by operation of law" is a legal term that indicates that a right or liability has been created for a party, irrespective of the intent of that party, because it is dictated by existing legal principles. For example, if a person dies wi ...

to a new seat on the

authorized by 96 Stat. 27. He resigned on June 20, 1987, to become an administrative judge for the Board of Contract Appeals of the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

, a position he held until 1998. Since 1998, Seto has been a professor at

Regent University School of Law Regent University School of Law is the law school of Regent University, a Private university, private Christianity, Christian university in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It was founded in 1986 and accredited by the American Bar Association in 1996. ...

. In 2005, Seto "suffered a debilitating

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

that impaired him both physically and emotionally".
In the Matter of Robert M. Seto
'', Proceeding No. D2011-59 (Oct. 11, 2011). In a disciplinary action in 2011, Seto agreed to be voluntarily suspended from practice before the

United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency in the United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark ...

for four years for misconduct in connection with the practice of his son, Jeffrey. The settlement stipulated that Seto had "assisted his son in the unauthorized practice of patent and trademark law while his son was employed as a patent examiner at the Office", a position that precluded the son from practicing before the office. Seto was reciprocally suspended from practice by the

Supreme Court of Hawaii The Supreme Court of Hawaii is the highest court of the State of Hawaii in the United States. Its decisions are binding on all other courts of the Hawaii State Judiciary. The principal purpose of the Supreme Court is to review the decisions ...

on January 5, 2012, and by the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

on April 30, 2012.

,
ORDER LIST: 566 U.S., Monday, April 30, 2012
'', p. 10.

Publications

*''A Federal Judge's View of the Most Important Changes in Patent Law in a Half-a-Century'', University of Florida Law Journal of Technology Law & Policy, Spring 2007. *''Is Jesus Entitled to a Copyright?'', Regent University Law Journal, Spring 2003. *''The Five Billion Dollar Involuntary Servitude'', Regent University Law Review, Fall 2003. *''Basic Ordering Agreements: The Catch-22 Chameleon of Government Contract Law'', Southern Methodist University Law Review, Spring 2002. *''Of Princesses, Charities, Trustees, and Fairytales: A Lesson of the Simple Wishes of Princess Bernice Pauhi Bishop'', University of Hawaii Law Review, Symposium Issue on the Bishop Estate Controversy. Volume 21, Number 2, Winter 1999.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seto, Robert M. M. 1936 births Living people Judges of the United States Court of Federal Claims United States Article I federal judges appointed by Ronald Reagan Saint Louis University alumni Saint Louis University School of Law alumni George Washington University Law School alumni Regent University faculty Monsanto employees People from Guangzhou Educators from Guangdong 20th-century American lawyers United States Senate lawyers