Karl F. Jorda

Karl F. Jorda was born in the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia on April 29, 1929. He left for Germany with his family, graduated from high school and attended the Goethe University in Frankfurt. He immigrated to the United States in 1951, graduated from the University of Great Falls, Montana Summa Cum Laude in 1953, and received a Master’s degree in Chemistry in 1954. He was awarded a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 1957. Because of his refugee status as a youth, education was very important to him.
Karl met his soon-to-be wife, Alice Gassmann, in 1954 in South Bend, Indiana where she was attending nursing school. She too had immigrated from a small village in Switzerland in 1951. Karl and Alice (his “Swiss Miss”) were married at the Notre Dame cathedral on August 11, 1956, and remained happily in love for almost 60 years.
Karl’s first job was as a law clerk to Judge Kylie in Chicago. He then moved to Miles Laboratories in Elkhart, Indiana as a patent attorney. In 1960, the Jordas moved to White Plains, New York and eventually settled in Armonk, New York in 1963, where they raised their family. Karl served as Chief Intellectual Property Counsel for Geigy Chemical (later Ciba-Geigy and now Novartis) until his retirement from corporate life in 1989. The Jordas then moved to New Hampshire when Karl accepted the position of professor and director of the Germeshausen Center for the Law of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Franklin Pierce Law Center (now University of New Hampshire Law School). Over the course of his 25 years at the law school, Karl was known for his endless energy, deep knowledge of the law, his jovial nature and gentle spirit, his modesty (referring to himself as “little old me”), his sincerity and respect for all. He mentored generations of leading lawyers and innovators from over 80 countries and saw the rank of the law school in intellectual property rise substantially.
During his illustrious career, Karl flew over 4.2 million miles, crossing the Atlantic Ocean 270 times, the Pacific Ocean 56 times, making 19 Round the World trips, and visiting more than 70 countries. His professional achievements included serving as president of the New York Intellectual Property Association and the Pacific Intellectual Property Association, expert advisor to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the World Intellectual Property Organization of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, and government officials from developing countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa. He presented intellectual property programs in numerous countries including China, India, Thailand, Dubai, Brazil, Mongolia and other countries too numerous to mention; sometimes returning home after 2 or 3 days to teach his law classes. His knowledge of overcoming jet-lag was legendary. He was known to lecture in English, German, Spanish and Japanese and could also speak French and read Latin. He was a world renowned authority on strategies for protecting intellectual property through patents (which are public) or trade secrets (which remain secret). Among his many awards, he was most proud of being inducted into the Intellectual Property Hall of Fame in 2007 for his “outstanding contributions to the development of intellectual law and practice,” receiving the Jefferson Medal in 1996 and getting his honorary LL.D honoris causa degree from UNH in 2013 with a conference room named in his honor.
Karl and Alice loved to entertain at their homes. They were especially known for their annual barbeque for all incoming law students and their families from all over the world. They were expert gardeners growing fruits, vegetables and flowers. Karl’s favorite hobby was beekeeping and he loved to gift the fruits of his labor. One of his favorite expressions was: “You can take the farmer out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of a farmer.”
After Karl retired for the second time at the age of 80, Karl and Alice moved to Port St. Lucie, Florida in 2011 to be near their daughter Mary. Karl’s health began to decline and he passed away on May 23, 2016 with his loving wife at his side. Karl is survived by his wife, his daughter Mary Louise Jorda and her husband Jerry Hibbard of Port St. Lucie, his daughter Helen Jorda and her husband Omar Yashruti of Los Angeles, his son Bernard Robert of San Diego, his son Karl Jorda and his wife Deirdre of Ridgefield, CT, his grandchildren Franz Osorio, Robyn Criscuolo, Liam Jorda, and Iman and Amira Yashruti, and his great-grandaughter Sophia (with a great-grandson on the way). He will be missed by all.