JOHN R. ROSS was born in New Bern, North Carolina in 1938. He received his BS degree in Nuclear Engineering at North Carolina State College and later moved to Pennsylvania with his wife Sallie Ross (née Brinkley) to obtain his JD Degree in Law at Duquesne University at Pittsburgh. Mr. Ross began his professional career as a Test Engineer at Shippingport Nuclear Power Station near Pittsburgh, PA where he was later put in charge of physics tests on the station's reactor. After graduation from Duquesne University, Mr. Ross joined the Law Department of Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Pittsburgh, PA. Mr. Ross' principal client was Westinghouse's Nuclear Energy Systems, the leading supplier of Nuclear Plants during the late 1960's, and early 1970's time frame. In 1974, Mr. Ross moved with his family— his wife, Sallie, their two sons, John and Marshall, and their daughter Elizabeth— to Del Mar, California where he worked for San Diego Law Department of General Atomic Company where he was primarily engaged in Major Litigation and Intellectual Property until 1986. Mr. Ross opened the Ross Patent Law Office in 1984. In 1986, Mr. Ross accepted a position as General Counsel at Western Research Corporation (later becoming Thermo Trex Corporation), a small San Diego R & D Company engaged in Star Wars research. After leaving Thermo Trex, Mr. Ross was employed full time as Intellectual Property Counsel at Cymer, Inc., the world's leading supplier of excimer lasers for integrated circuit lithography. In April of 2003, Mr. Ross left Cymer, Inc. and accepted a position as the Vice President Intellectual Property at Trex Enterprises Corporation. Mr. Ross has been an attorney since 1968 and a patent attorney since 1981, is a member of the California State Bar, San Diego County, and American Bar Associations, and is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.