RI’s Cooper Coolidge Woodring Was Key Player in Apple’s $1B Lawsuit Against Samsung, Dies at 84
Friday, October 15, 2021
Cooper Coolidge Woodring, 84, a nationally recognized leader in the field of industrial design, passed away peacefully in Hospice care on September 21, 2021, in Providence, Rhode Island.
Before the Apple v. Samsung case, few people outside the design industry cared about design patents. But with Apple’s resounding victory (and $1.05 billion spoils), the issue of whether something like rounded corners can be patented has been roiling the blogs. Cooper Woodring, an industrial designer and the former Industrial Designers Society of America president, was a consultant on the Apple case and has trained nine IDSA members as courtroom experts–including Peter Bressler, Apple’s testifying witness.
He is survived by his daughter Sarah Woodring of Wakefield, Rhode Island; his son Marcus Woodring (Kim) of League City, Texas, and his sister Melissa Jager of Christiansburg, Virginia. He also leaves behind four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren who carry the Woodring name forward.
Cooper earned a bachelor's degree in industrial design from the University of Kansas and a master's degree in design from Cranbrook Academy of Art. He spent the majority of his career as manager of product design and new product development at the JCPenney Company in New York City when the company was the third-largest retailer in America. The holder of more than 30 U.S. design and utility patents, Cooper was an accomplished expert witness in design patent litigation and represented Apple in its successful lawsuit against Samsung in 2012. Earlier in his career, President Ronald Reagan appointed Cooper to head the United States Information Agency's Cultural Exchange Mission "Design in America," and in 1991, he testified before Congress in support of the Industrial Design Innovation and Technology Act.
His inventions ranged from decorative Venetian blinds to a handheld food processor and bicycle brakes. He patented the design for the first nesting, injection-molded rocking chair, which can be found at your local hardware store. Other consumer products he designed can be found in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York (a paint bucket), as well as the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. (a microwave).
The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) recognized these achievements, bestowing Cooper with its highest honors: the Personal Recognition Award, now Individual Achievement Award, in 1992, and an IDSA Fellowship. He also was a member of the Intellectual Property Owners Association.
He had many other accomplishments throughout his life including two terms as the mayor of Plandome, New York, where he was also a member of the Volunteer Fire Department; President and Fellow of the Industrial Design Society of America; author of the book “Expert Design Witness 101.”
Cooper also designed and created beautiful, handcrafted mirrors framed by seashells. He credited his inspiration to a lifetime surrounded by seashells, art and creative people, including his mother Helen Coolidge Woodring, a renowned artist.
Family and friends are invited to join an online memorial service on Sunday October 17, from 10 am -12 pm est.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Hope Hospice or Animal Rescue Rhode Island.
