Brumbaugh v. Wilson

134 F.2d 180, 30 C.C.P.A. 837, 56 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 561, 1943 CCPA LEXIS 18
CourtCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals
DecidedFebruary 1, 1943
DocketNo. 4642
StatusPublished

This text of 134 F.2d 180 (Brumbaugh v. Wilson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Customs and Patent Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brumbaugh v. Wilson, 134 F.2d 180, 30 C.C.P.A. 837, 56 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 561, 1943 CCPA LEXIS 18 (ccpa 1943).

Opinion

Bland, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

This is an appeal from a decision of the Board of Interference Examiners of the United States Patent Office in- a patent interference proceeding in which Brumbaugh, the junior party, has appealed from the decision of the board awarding priority of invention of the two article counts involved to the senior party, Wilson.

[838]*838The counts correspond to two claims in Brumbaugh’s patent issued October 24,1939, upon an application filed May 17, 1939. This application purports to be, in.part, a continuation of an application filed August 20, 1937, which became abandoned on May 17, 1939, through the failure of Brumbaugh to respond to the rejection dated November 17, 1938. The interference, therefore, is between the claims of the Brumbaugh patent which correspond to the involved counts and the application of Wilson filed December 31,1938 (into which the Brum-baugh claims were copied) which is a continuatiomimpart of an earlier application of Wilson filed October 22, 1936. The applications of Brumbaugh and Wilson were co-pending. Brumbaugh, being the junior party, was under the burden of proving his priority by a preponderance of the evidence.

The counts of the interference read as follows:

1. A wax composition comprising an emulsion of wax in water having therein as an emulsifying agent a morpholine compound with a fatty acid of high molecular weight, holding the wax dispersed in such small particle size that it will dry bright or with substantial lustre when merely applied to a surface and exposed to the atmosphere without rubbing, said emulsifying agent being decomposable by drying of the ■ composition whereby the composition loses its ability to re-emulsify in the presence of water.
2. A wax composition comprising an emulsion of wax in water having therein as an emulsifying agent an unstable volatile amino compound with a fatty acid of high molecular weight, forming a wax-soluble soap, so as to hold the wax dispersed in such small particle size that it will dry bright or with substantial lustre when merely applied to a surface and exposed to the atmosphere without rubbing, said emulsifying agent being stable in the presence of the water and not evaporating selectively in water solution but decomposable by the drying of the composition whereby the composition loses its ability to re-emulsify in the presence of water.

It is to be noticed that tlie counts are drawn to the composition and that the method involved is not under consideration here.

The Brumbaugh patent is assigned to the Universal Chemical Corporation (hereafter referred to as Universal), manufacturers of floor finishes and other products. In the fall of 1932 Universal employed Mr. Brumbaugh as a chemist. In the fall of 1933 Brumbaugh formed a company known as the Chemical Products Company and ceased working for Universal soon thereafter. In September 1936 Universal bought Brumbaugh’s Chemical Products Company, including about four pounds of morpholine, and rehired Mr. Brumbaugh as chemist.

At the time of taking proof and long prior thereto, Wilson was employed by the Organic Synthesis Industrial Fellowship maintained at the Mellon Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, by the Carbide & Carbon Chemicals Corporation, which owns the Wilson application, said corporation being a manufacturer of chemicals and, as pertinent [839]*839here, a manufacturer of triethanolamine, used for making wax-in-water emulsions, and morpholine or equivalent amino compounds, which are furnished to certain manufacturers for the purpose of making wax compounds which are bright-drying, 'waterproof, and require no buffing after-application.

Originally, the interference proceeding included one Anton E. Bud-ner, whose application was owned by S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc., manufacturers of floor waxes, etc. Subsequent to the taking of testimony, Budner conceded priority to Wilson, to which Johnson assented, and Budner was thereafter eliminated as. a party herein.

After the elimination of Budner, Brumbaugh moved that the Bud-ner proof be made a part of the record. This motion was granted by a single Examiner of Interferences for the purpose of consideration at final hearing, and the Budner testimony was in the record before the Board of Interference Examiners and is in the record at bar.

The invention defined by the involved counts relates to a wax composition or polish in the form of an emulsion which is water-resistant and produces a lustrous, glossy finish without rubbing. An important feature of both counts is -that requiring.the holding of the wax “dispersed in such small particle size that it will dry bright or with substantial lustre when merely applied to a surface and exposed to the atmosphere without rubbing.” Said wax is produced by the use of a morpholine compound (in count 1) and an unstable volatile amino compound (in the broader count 2). It is compounded with fatty acids of high molecular weight, such as oleic acid, and a suitable wax material. The wax and the oleic acid are melted, and the emulsion is formed by the addition of water at stated temperatures.

Prior to this invention, there were wax-in-water emulsions which were represented as bright-drying and self-lustering, but they did not give satisfactory results for the reason that when water came in contact with the wax-polished floor, emulsification again set in, the wax would rub off, and spots of discoloration would be left on the floor. Moreover, particles in the emulsion were too large, ancl streaking resulted. In making such wax compositions, the emulsifying agents employed included triethanolamine or alkali metal soaps. By the use of mor-pholine or its derivatives, a lustering wax was produced which was highly resistant to both hot and cold water. The chemical reaction said to take place was one that gave a “fine particle size in such a way that the film would not be re-emulsifiable in the presence of water.”

Appellant raises a number of'issues. We think it sufficient-to-state and comment upon but five of them. He contends:

1. That the interference should have been dissolved on the ground that the Wilson application does not contain a -sufficient disclosure to [840]*840satisfy the requirements of E. S. 4888 with respect to the preparation of the wax composition defined in the counts;

2. That the method disclosed in said Wilson application is inoperative;

8. That Wilson derived the invention from Brumbaugh;

4. That Wilson has not proved priority of invention but that Brumbaugh has; and

5. That there was fraud and collusion between Wilson and Budner.

On the last contention appellant urges that since the record clearly shows collusion and fraud upon the part of Wilson and Budner, the whole record of Wilson must be rejected as failing to prove Wilson’s priority, on the doctrine of falsus in uno, falsus in oormibus.

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134 F.2d 180, 30 C.C.P.A. 837, 56 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 561, 1943 CCPA LEXIS 18, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brumbaugh-v-wilson-ccpa-1943.