Nicholson v. Carl W. Mullis Engineering & Manufacturing Co.

200 F. Supp. 396, 132 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 590, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5955
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. South Carolina
DecidedDecember 8, 1961
DocketCiv. A. No. 2613
StatusPublished

This text of 200 F. Supp. 396 (Nicholson v. Carl W. Mullis Engineering & Manufacturing Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nicholson v. Carl W. Mullis Engineering & Manufacturing Co., 200 F. Supp. 396, 132 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 590, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5955 (southcarolinawd 1961).

Opinion

WYCHE, District Judge.

This is an action filed by Thomas W. Nicholson as plaintiff against Mullís Engineering and Manufacturing Company, Inc. as defendant, in which the plaintiff alleges infringement of two patents Nos. 2,802,495 and 2,802,496, both owned by the plaintiff Nicholson, by the manufacture, use and sale of certain log debarking machines. The defendant as exclusive licensee counterclaimed for infringement of patent No. 2,908,302, owned by Carl W. Mullís, Sr., its president, who intervened herein, charging infringement of such patent by the manufacture, use and sale of certain other debarking machines, known as Accumat machines, by Nicholson and his wholly owned company, Nicholson Manufacturing Company.

Neither party has questioned the jurisdiction of this Court over the parties or over the subject matter.

The case was tried by me at Rock Hill, South Carolina, evidence was presented by both sides and oral arguments and excellent written briefs submitted for my consideration.

In compliance with Rule 52(a), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C.A., I find the facts specially and state my conclusions of law thereon, in the above cause, as follows:

Findings of Fact

1. Plaintiff is a resident of Auburn, Washington.

2. Defendant is a corporation of South Carolina, located at Lancaster, South Carolina.

3. This is an action under the patent laws of the United States.

4. This Court has jurisdiction of the parties and of the cause of action set out in the complaint and counterclaim.

5. Plaintiff is the owner of patents Nos. 2,802,495 and 2,802,496.

[398]*3986. Plaintiff has charged defendant with infringement of claim 4 of patent No. 2,802,495 and claim 1 of patent No. 2,802,496.

7. Both the patents in suit relate to log debarking machines.

8. Patent No. 2,802,495 shows, and in claim 4 claims, a ring-type debarker including a ring 2 on which are pivoted at 32 arms 31 which carry scraper plate debarking tools 4. The tools are pressed toward the log by pistons connected to piston rods 33 pivoted at 36 to arms 31. The pistons are slidable in cylinders 34 pivoted at 35 on ring 4. The pivots 32 of the arms are spaced circumferentially around the ring, and the pivots 36 at which the piston rods 33 are connected to the arms 31 are located between the pivots 32 of the arms and the ends of the arms which carry the tools 4. The pivots 35 of the cylinders are also cir-cumferentially displaced with respect to the pivots 32 of the arms.

Rollers 1 feed a log lengthwise through the center of the ring while preventing it from turning. As the ring rotates, it drags the tools around the log and scrapes off the bark.

9. Patent No. 2,802,496 discloses, and in claim 1 claims, a debarking device in which a log is rotated past a nonrotative arm. An arm 2, pivoted at 20, carries a lever 45 with a debarking scraper blade or plate 34 and is pressed toward the log by a piston slidable in a cylinder 25. When the log is rotated, the tool drags over its surface and removes the bark. The edge 30 of the tool is formed by the leading face as one plane and by another flat surface meeting the leading face at an angle, and the angle between the leading face and the tangent to the log is not over 90°, or a right angle.

10. The Mullis machines, charged as an infringement of these two patents, are ring-type debarkers in which the ring, forms a reservoir for pressure fluid. The tool-carrying arms are pivoted on the ring, but the cylinders are fixed to the ring at locations spaced around the ring from the arm pivots. A connecting rod is pivoted to and connects each piston in its cylinder and a tool carrying arm at a location between the pivot of such arm on the ring and the inner end of the arm. The Mullis tool has a blunt edge formed by the intersection of two planes at right angles to each other.

11. Mullis has charged Nicholson with infringement of claim 8 of his patent No. 2,908,302 by making and selling a debarking machine known as an Accumat.

The Nicholson Accumat machine is not like the one shown in Nicholson’s 495 and 496 patents.

12. Defendant attacks the validity of the two Nicholson patents and denies infringement.

13. Plaintiff attacks the validity of the Mullis patent and denies infringement.

14. During the year 1952, more than one year before the filing of the application resulting in the 495 patent, Nicholson built, within the United States, a log debarking machine (hereinafter referred to as the Cascade machine) embodying every element of claim 4 of the patent. The machine was completed at least as early as August, 1952, and had been demonstrated to outsiders at that time. During 1952, about fifty people outside of plaintiff’s company saw the machine, and half of these saw it in operation. These were people in the lumber business and there was no general policy of requiring of outsiders who saw the machine to maintain secrecy.

15. As early as September, 1952, Nicholson had run extensive tests on this machine with all types of logs and in his opinion it did a wonderful job.

16. On February 1, 1953, one year before the filing of the application resulting in the 495 patent, Nicholson stated in a letter that “we have sold some further machines”.

17. On April 27, 1956, Nicholson filed in the Patent Office, in the application for his 495 patent, an affidavit under Rule 131, in which he stated that “The machine shown in the attached photograph is built and used for successfully remov[399]*399ing bark from logs in the United States of America prior to October 31, 1952”. This referred to the Cascade machine.

18. The Cascade machine was built under a contract between Nicholson and Cascade Lumber Company, Yakima, Washington. This contract was originally made on November 30, 1951. It was somewhat modified on December 11,1951, and on March 19, 1952. Payment of $9,250 under the contract was made by Cascade on March 19, 1952; of $3,000 on March 31, 1952; of $7,500 on June 13, 1952.

19. The Cascade machine was delivered to Cascade before February 1, 1953; was accepted by Cascade about the middle of April, 1953; and was completely paid for on April 17, 1953.

20. In September, 1952, Nicholson allowed a reporter for “The Lumberman” to see the machine, take at least two pictures of it, and write an article about it which was published in September, 1952. In the same issue, the Nicholson Company inserted an advertisement with a picture of the machine entitled “New Nicholson Rotobarker”.

21. The advertisement displayed prominently the words “what the Industry has been waiting for”.

22. In the November, 1952, issue of “The Lumberman”, Nicholson had an advertisement with a picture of the Cascade machine.

23. The application resulting in patent No. 2,802,495 was filed in the Patent Office on February 1, 1954.

24. The specification of Patent No.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Steward v. American Lava Co.
215 U.S. 161 (Supreme Court, 1909)
Aerovox Corporation v. Polymet Mfg. Corporation
67 F.2d 860 (Second Circuit, 1933)
Water Hammer Arrester Corp. v. Tower
156 F.2d 775 (Seventh Circuit, 1946)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
200 F. Supp. 396, 132 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 590, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5955, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nicholson-v-carl-w-mullis-engineering-manufacturing-co-southcarolinawd-1961.