Patent lawyer and Cold Fusion Now! contributor David J. French passed away quietly in his sleep the night of Sunday Dec 2.
He spent his career at private law firms and also worked with the Canadian government on law reform and international patent issues before retiring to his own law firm Second Counsel in Ottawa, Canada.
He began consulting with scientists in the CMNS field offering patent advice and helping to secure their intellectual property, sharing much of his expertise knowledge pro bono.
David J. French wrote his first article for Cold Fusion Now! in August 2011 – Review of Cold Fusion Patents – and continued to write through May 2016, doing an analysis of Andrea Rossi’s patent filings.
See the whole set of David J. French articles for Cold Fusion Now! here: https://coldfusionnow.org/patents/
He also published in the Journal of Condensed Matter Nuclear Science and began speaking publicly at conferences on the issues of patents and cold fusion.
In 2012, he spoke at ICCF-17 on Patents and Cold Fusion, published in the Proceedings [JCMNS V13 .pdf].
In 2013, he presented a poster at ICCF-18 Patenting Cold Fusion Inventions before the US Patent & Trademark Office which this paper is based on.
At the CF/LANR Colloquium at MIT, David J. French spoke March 22 2014 on The role of the Patent Attorney in patenting Cold Fusion inventions seen here on Youtube.
In June 2017, he spoke at the 12th International Workshop on Anomalies in Hydrogen Loaded Metals and published Key Principles for Patenting in the Land of LENR in the Proceedings [JCMNS Vol26 .pdf].
Video of the talk was captured by Société Française de la Science Nucléaire dans la Matière Condensée:
Although he attended ICCF-21 this past June 2018, he did not present formally, but spent hours sharing patent advice with the scientists there. High drama ensued when, on the day of the outing, the tour bus full of scientists forgot David at a Rocky Mountain Park visitor center. He notoriously decided to hitchhike home from 7800 feet (~ 2400 m), getting multiple rides from locals off the mountain. Nuclear scientists searched the upper peak, looking for the missing patent lawyer until learning he was napping back at campus!
David French showed generosity and kindness to the CMNS community with his open and steady demeanor. Like his fellow Canadian Marshall McLuhan, David J. French embodied the even-tempered balance of issues, always willing to listen, rejecting emotional judgements in favor of a civil discourse that pursues a common understanding.
His last update for Cold Fusion Now! was in April 2018 when he joined me on the podcast. Personally, David was a voice of inspiration, creativity, and positivity. I hope that some of his creative writings see the light of day – he dabbled in fiction and screenplays, as well as history.
His many friends in the CMNS community will surely miss his understanding and contribution of law, science, and technology, and this friend will too.
Ruby:
Thanks for providing this record of David’s participation in the CMNS community. He shared his enthusiasm for new ideas and clarity anyone.
Hey Finlay, I hope I’ll see you at the cf meetings in the future. One of David’s contributions was bringing his friends along, and it’s been a pleasure to know you.
Peace,
Ruby
Farewell Mr French.
Thanks for your efforts.