Holmes v. Thew Shovel Co.

305 F. Supp. 139, 162 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 559, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13407
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedJuly 1, 1969
DocketNo. C 64-240
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 305 F. Supp. 139 (Holmes v. Thew Shovel Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Holmes v. Thew Shovel Co., 305 F. Supp. 139, 162 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 559, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13407 (N.D. Ohio 1969).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

LAMBROS, District Judge.

This is an action for patent infringement and unfair competition. The plaintiff, in Count 1 of his complaint, has alleged that the defendant is infringing plaintiff’s patent No. 3,043,445, which relates to a device for controlling the boom on certain power cranes. Count 2 of the complaint seeks damages for the breach of a confidental relationship. Plaintiff alleges in Count 2 that he disclosed certain information to the defendant in confidence and with the understanding that if the information were utilized by the defendant, plaintiff would be compensated.1

The plaintiff, William C. Holmes, is a resident of Michigan. His occupation is that of a crane operator. He has never been an employee of the defendant, although he has operated cranes manufactured by the defendant in the course of his employment.

The defendant, the Thew Shovel Company, was until 1964 a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the state of Ohio. In 1964 the Thew Shovel Company was dissolved by merger into Koehring Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The business of the Thew Shovel Company is now being conducted as the Thew-Lorain Company, a division of Koehring Company.

The Court has jurisdiction of this action by virtue of Title 28, U.S.C.A. § 1338. The Court also has jurisdiction under Title 28, U.S.C.A., § 1338(b) and under Title 28, U.S.C.A., § 1332.

The defendant has filed a counterclaim seeking compensatory and injunctive relief for alleged unfair competition by the plaintiff. By agreement of the parties prior to trial, a permanent injunction may be entered against the plaintiff on this counterclaim in the event the plaintiff does not prevail upon his complaint. As a result of this agreement, no proofs [141]*141were offered at the trial with respect to the counterclaim.

Plaintiff demanded and was granted a jury trial of the issues in this case. The Court thereafter made an extensive inquiry into the question of which issues relevant to this litigation are factual issues to be determined by the jury and which issues are questions of law to be determined by the Court.

It appears from virtually all the recent authorities considering this question that the ultimate issue of whether a patent meets the requisite standard of invention is a question of law rather than one of fact. Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 86 S.Ct. 684, 15 L.Ed.2d 545 (1966); Kaiser Industries Corp. v. McLouth Steel Corp., 400 F.2d 36 (6th Cir. 1968); Monroe Auto Equip. Co. v. Heckethorn Mfg. & Supply Co., 332 F.2d 406 (6th Cir. 1964); Swofford v. B & W, Inc., 251 F.Supp. 811 (S.D.Tex.1966), aff’d 395 F.2d 362 (5th Cir. 1968). This question of validity is to be determined on the basis of certain factual inquiries:

“Several basic factual inquiries are essential, however, to establish a foundation upon which the legal conclusion can be based. The scope and content of the prior art must be determined; differences between the prior art and the claims at issue must be ascertained; and the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art must be resolved.” Kaiser Industries Corp. v. McLouth Steel Corp., 400 F.2d at 41. See also Young Corp. v. Jenkins, 396 F.2d 893 (10th Cir. 1968); Graham v. John Deere Co., supra.

The cases cited above and virtually all the other recent eases on this subject disclose the following: (1) there are four “basic” issues in the normal patent litigation; (2) these issues are:

(a) the state of the prior art, (b) the improvements, if any, which the patented article makes over the prior art, (c) whether these improvements, considered in light of the prior art, are sufficiently novel to meet the statutory tests of inventiveness, (d) whether the accused device infringes upon the patent device; (3) the issues of the state of the prior art, and the improvements made over the prior art, and the issue of infringement are all questions of fact determined by the jury. The issue of the validity of the patent is a question of law to be determined by the Court.

In accordance with the Court’s conclusion as to the distribution of these various issues, the Court submitted a series of interrogatories to the jury. Interrogatories 1 through 8 related to the issue of infringement and inquired whether the plaintiff had proved that the accused device included elements claimed in the patent. Interrogatories 9 and 10 articulated the general standard for determining infringement and inquired whether the jury found that the accused device infringed relevant claims on the patent.

The next twelve interrogatories related to the issue of patent validity. The parties stipulated as to the relative body of prior art, and interrogatories 1 through 4 inquired whether the patented device constituted an improvement over the various aspects of this prior art. Interrogatory No. 5 inquired into whether the patented device produces an unusual result which would not have been expected by a person having ordinary skill in the art. Interrogatory 6 required the jury to relate these unusual results to each claim in the patent. Interrogatories 7 and 8 performed a similar function by inquiring into whether the patented device functions in an unusual manner which would not have been expected by a person having ordinary skill in the art. Interrogatories 9 and 10, similarly operating, inquired into whether the patented device employed an unusual means which would not have been expected by a person having ordinary skill in the art.

Interrogatories 11 and 12 inquired into whether the patented device defines a mechanism which would have been obvious to a man of ordinary skill in the art. These inquiries are, of course, very close to the issue of patent validity which the Court must decide itself. However, the [142]*142Court submitted these questions to the jury solely for the purpose of avoiding a retrial of this action in the event a higher court determines that this question should properly be submitted to a jury where a jury is demanded.

The jury answered all the interrogatories in a manner favorable to the plaintiff.

The plaintiff’s second count, that for unfair competition, was also submitted to the jury by way of interrogatories. The jury answered these interrogatories in a manner favorable to the plaintiff also.

The defendant has now filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The following issues are presented by this motion: (1) Are the patent claims in suit not infringed as a matter of law, (2)'Is the patent in suit invalid by reason of the plaintiff’s public use and sale of the device more than one year prior to the effective filing date of the patent in suit, (3) Is the patent in suit unenforceable by reason of the doctrine of “unclean hands,” (4) Is the patent in suit anticipated by the plaintiff’s own use and sale of an earlier patent device, (5) Does the patented device meet the statutory standard of invention, and (6) Are the jury’s findings on the issue of unfair competition contrary to the evidence.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
305 F. Supp. 139, 162 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 559, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13407, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/holmes-v-thew-shovel-co-ohnd-1969.