K & W Trucking, Inc. v. Eight Point Trailer Corp.

Ninth Circuit

K & W Trucking, Inc. v. Eight Point Trailer Corp.

418 F.2d 1243, 164 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 35

Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit·Decided November 25, 1969·No. 22909_1·Published

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

The judgment is affirmed as to infringement. We conclude that the finding of patent infringement on a truck trailer coupling device is not clearly erroneous.

We reverse as to the award of attorney fees. The infringement was very retail and not aggravated. It was mostly a case of a stubborn layman. There is just not enough wilfulness to make the case the extraordinary one required for an award of attorney’s fees. Perhaps all victors in patent cases should get attorney’s fees, but that is not the law. Approval of attorney’s fees here would just about mean that they could be allowed in every patent ease.

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PER CURIAM:

The judgment is affirmed as to infringement. We conclude that the finding of patent infringement on a truck trailer coupling device is not clearly erroneous.

We reverse as to the award of attorney fees. The infringement was very retail and not aggravated. It was mostly a case of a stubborn layman. There is just not enough wilfulness to make the case the extraordinary one required for an award of attorney’s fees. Perhaps all victors in patent cases should get attorney’s fees, but that is not the law. Approval of attorney’s fees here would just about mean that they could be allowed in every patent ease.

K & W Trucking, Inc. v. Eight Point Trailer Corp., 418 F.2d 1243, 164 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 35 (9th Cir. 1969).

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418 F.2d 1243 (K & W Trucking, Inc. v. Eight Point Trailer Corp.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.