Lyman Ray Patterson (18 February 1929 – 5 November 2003) was an

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law professor A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

and an influential copyright scholar and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

Biography

Patterson was born in Macon,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. He graduated from

Mercer University Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 ...

, and obtained a master's degree in English from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. After teaching English at

Middle Georgia College Middle Georgia College (MGC) was a four-year state college unit of the University System of Georgia. On January 8, 2013, it was consolidated with Macon State College into a new institution, which is now known as Middle Georgia State University. T ...

, he joined the Army where he studied

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at the Army Language School. During the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

he served as a translator of Russian radio broadcasts. Following the Army he attended law school at

. After practicing law for two years with the firm of Matthews, Maddox, Walton and Smith in

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he returned to the Mercer Law School to teach. During Patterson's tenure at Mercer he attended

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

and wrote his S.J.D. dissertation on the

history of copyright law History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

. He received the S.J.D. degree from Harvard in 1966. The dissertation became the foundation for his influential book ''

Copyright in Historical Perspective ''Copyright in Historical Perspective'' is an influential work of copyright scholarship by Lyman Ray Patterson. The book traces the history of Anglo-Saxon copyright from the outgoing 15th century to the late 19th century. Starting with William Cax ...

'', published in 1968 and still in print as of 2007. Patterson joined the faculty at

Vanderbilt University Law School Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as Vanderbilt Law School or VLS) is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law School has consiste ...

in 1963, and served as an assistant

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while teaching at Vanderbilt. In 1973 Patterson joined the faculty at the

Emory University School of Law Emory University School of Law is the law school of Emory University and is part of the University's main campus in Druid Hills, Atlanta, Georgia. It was founded in 1916 and was the first law school in Georgia to be granted membership in the Am ...

and was that school's Dean. In 1987, he joined the University of Georgia (UGA) School of Law faculty and remained there until his death in 2003. During his career he was a visiting professor at

Georgia State University Law School The Georgia State University College of Law is a law school located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1982, it is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. In addition to the J ...

Duke University School of Law Duke University School of Law (Duke Law School or Duke Law) is the law school of Duke University, a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law is a constituent academic unit th ...

, and the

University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the law school of the University of Texas at Austin. Texas Law is consistently ranked as one of the top law schools in the United States and is highly selective—registering the 8th lowest ac ...

. The

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L. Ray Patterson Copyright Award was established in his honor.American Library Association
L. Ray Patterson Copyright Award
(website last visited, 7 May 2009). The first three winners were Kenneth Crews (2005);

Prue Adler Prue may refer to: People * Prue Acton Prue Acton, OBE (born 26 April 1943) is an Australian fashion designer, often referred to as "Australia's golden girl of fashion" during the 1960s. Early life Prudence Leigh Acton was born in Benalla, V ...

(2006); and Peter Jaszi (2007). Ray Patterson died at age 74. He is succeeded by his wife, Laura Patterson and two daughters Adelyn Hilado and Ida Patterson. He also left behind four grandchildren who consider him an inspiration to this day. He constantly stressed the importance of an education to which all four grand children took to heart. His oldest grandson, Thomas Ray Hilado, also attended Mercer University in his grandfather's footsteps. His oldest granddaughter, Laura Carol Hilado attends Emory University; where Patterson served as the Dean of the Emory University School of Law.

Bibliography

* ''

'' (Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 1968) * ''The Nature of Copyright: A Law of Users' Rights'' (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1991) (with Stanley W. Lindberg)

Biography

Bibliography

Notes

Further reading