Johnson Foils, Inc. v. Huyck Corp.

61 F.R.D. 405, 180 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 243, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12006
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. New York
DecidedSeptember 7, 1973
DocketNo. 71-CV-114
StatusPublished
Cited by38 cases

This text of 61 F.R.D. 405 (Johnson Foils, Inc. v. Huyck Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Johnson Foils, Inc. v. Huyck Corp., 61 F.R.D. 405, 180 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 243, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12006 (N.D.N.Y. 1973).

Opinion

JAMES T. FOLEY, Chief Judge.

MEMORANDUM-DECISION and ORDER

Defendant has made two motions, one requesting summary judgment under Rule 56, Fed.R.Civ.Pro. or alternatively that I make findings of fact under Rule 56(d); the other motion seeks an order to prevent plaintiff from using some fruits of discovery in foreign litigation.

I

SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Defendant’s assertion that there is no genuine issue of material fact regarding the invalidity of the patent is based upon two contentions: (1) Its wording of claims is indefinite in that the patent described therein with definiteness only as to what is already known in the art and (2) that there has been a misjoinder of co-inventors.

Summary judgment is a very drastic remedy. It says to the losing party that the court is so certain that nothing you have said even raises a material issue that you will be denied an opportunity to have a day in court on your claims. On the other hand, summary judgment can be a very useful device when it would be a waste of time and expense to have a pro forma trial, i. e., where the court finds to a high degree of certainty that there are no issues to litigate. Vermont Structural Slate Co. v. Tatko Bros. Slate Co., 233 F.2d 9, 10 (2d Cir. 1956), cert. denied 352 U.S. 917, 77 S.Ct. 216, 1 L.Ed.2d 123 (1956). The emphasis in a motion for summary judgment is that a court must be certain that it is not depriving a party of the fundamental right to a trial. This is why the law puts great burdens of proof upon the movant and allows presumptions in favor of the opposing party. Nyhus v. Travel Management Corp., 151 U.S.App.D.C. 269, 466 F.2d 440, 442 (1972); Pitts v. Shell Oil Co., 463 F.2d 331, 335 (5th Cir. 1972); Empire Electronics Co. v. United States, 311 F.2d 175 (2d Cir. 1962).

When dealing with patent litigation involving questions of validity or scope, summary judgment is usually inappropriate. American Optical Co. v. New Jersey Optical Co., 58 F.Supp. 601, 605 (D.Mass.1944). The reason for this is quite simple; patents often must describe or translate the operation of very precise devices by using much less precise language. In order to accomplish this, scientists and patent lawyers must use a very sophisticated and highly specialized parlance. As certain ‘terms of art’ baffle anyone but the trained lawyer, many terms that the scientists may use or their patent lawyers may use can contain important distinctions imperceptible to anyone without an expert to explain or translate them. Graver Mfg. Co. v. Linde Co., 336 U.S. 271, 69 S.Ct. 535, 93 L.Ed. 672 (1949). In the majority of cases, understanding the issues becomes even more complicated because the experts will often disagree. It then becomes a question of the demeanor of these experts which must be carefully weighed before one version of conflicting technical explanations is chosen as the basis for the court’s decision. Such complex circumstances make summary judgment difficult to render in patent cases. Vermont Structural Slate Co. v. Tatko Bros. Slate Co., supra, 233 F.2d at 10; Cross v. United States, 336 F.2d 431 (2d Cir. 1964). However, this is not meant to imply that summary judgment is never appropriate in such eases. In my early days as District Judge, I granted a motion for summary judgment in the patent ease of Vermont Structural Slate Co. v. Tatko Bros. Slate Co., 134 F.Supp. 4 (N.D.N.Y.1955), affirmed 233 F.2d 9 (2d Cir. 1956), cert. denied 352 U.S. 917, 77 S.Ct. 216, 1 L.Ed.2d 123 (1956). This case — and its recollection of the patent is vivid in my mind — is a good representation of the factual simplicity that must exist before a court can confidently declare that it comprehends the case well enough to certify [408]*408that no genuine issue of material fact was present. Vermont Structural Slate was a controversy over a patent describing wooden pallets which were used to handle slabs of slate. It was described by me as a patent of “unbelievable simplicity” and by Judge Jerome Frank of the Court of Appeals as “easily understandable by anyone of the most modest intelligence.” Other patent cases where courts allowed summary judgment also involved relatively simple devices which eliminated the need for specialized knowledge of the art, see, e. g., Monaplastics, Inc. v. Caldor, Inc., 378 F.2d 20, 21 (2d Cir. 1967) (three-piece plastic towel rack); Walker v. General Motors Corp., 362 F.2d 56 (9th Cir. 1966) (the mounting of a gas tank beneath a vehicle’s fender).

The patent at issue in this case involves a device much more sophisticated and technical than a plastic towel rack, a wooden pallet, or any other device that most ordinary people are familiar with. At issue here is a “hydrofoil”. It is a device that extracts water from wood fibers during the paper making process by creating a suction while remaining relatively stationary itself. The hydrofoil employs the “foil” principle of physics which is somewhat related to the principle by which wings provide lift to an airplane. In addition, the history of such water removing devices goes back almost 200 years and includes many developments and improvements since then, one of which is claimed here by plaintiff. See also, e. g., Eibel Process Co. v. Minnesota & Ontario Paper Co., 261 U.S. 45, 47-48, 43 S.Ct. 322, 67 L.Ed. 523 (1923). Thus to my mind there are complex issues of trying to delineate where the prior art ends and where the invention, if any, begins. The nature of the patent in question and the issues underlying defendant’s attack upon its validity make it inappropriate in my judgment to grant summary judgment. Van Wormer v. Champion Paper & Fibre Co., 28 F.Supp. 813, 814-815 (S.D.Ohio, W.D.1939); Staffin Lewis Corp. v. Rose Derry Co., 9 F.R.D. 704, 705 (D.Mass.1950). Indeed, of the cases cited by defendant dealing with the indefiniteness of patents, none granted summary judgment. On the contrary most of these decisions seem to have held trials or hearings on the issues and some courts even specifically referred to the importance of having a trial with expert testimony before rendering a judgment. United Carbon Co. v. Binney & Smith Co., 317 U.S. 228, 232, 63 S.Ct. 165, 87 L.Ed. 232 (1942); Norton Co. v. Bendix Corp., 449 F.2d 553 (2d Cir. 1971). Therefore, summary judgment is denied.

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Bluebook (online)
61 F.R.D. 405, 180 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 243, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12006, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/johnson-foils-inc-v-huyck-corp-nynd-1973.