Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/251/801/296942/
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 10:37:46+00:00

Document:
J. Pierre Kolisch, Ramsey & Kolisch, Portland, Ore., for appellants.
S. J. Bischoff, Portland, Ore., for appellee.
Before HEALY, POPE and LEMMON, Circuit Judges.
Twilight is falling upon "gadgets" as subjects of patents. The dusk commenced to gather half a dozen years ago when, in an epochal decision,1 the Supreme Court fixed its canon against dignifying combined "segments of prior art" with the title of "inventions".
In a concurring opinion in that case, Mr. Justice Douglas compiled a devastating list of "gadgets" that have been placed "under the armour of patents".2 The specification at bar proclaims at the outset that it is a "drain slot which forms the basis of this invention". If the trivial devices listed by Mr. Justice Douglas are "gadgets", then, in the hierarchy of invention, a slot should be classified as a subgadget — comparable to the hole in a doughnut!
This is the second time that the patent in suit, Korter No. 2,631,552 has been before this Court. The first appeal was dismissed because the so-called decree of the Court below was not a final decision, within the meaning of 28 U.S.C.A. § 1291, and was therefore not appealable. Bergman v. Aluminum Lock Shingle Corp. of America, 9 Cir., 1956, 237 F.2d 386, 387.
"That there is no just reason for delay in entering final judgment and decree for plaintiff and against the defendants on the following issues:"
By this amendment the lower court conformed to the requirements of Fed. Rules Civ.Proc. Rule 54(b), 28 U.S.C.A. relative to a "Judgment Upon Multiple Claims".
The District Court adhered to its original decree in holding that (1) the patent in suit is valid; that (2) it has been infringed; and that the appellants were enjoined from making, selling, etc., "any aluminum shingles which infringe" the patent in suit.
On September 24, 1957, the appellee filed a motion to strike from the appellants' brief filed on the former appeal a copy of Patent No. 2,173,774, issued to Birch and Childers, on the ground that the document was not included in the appellants' contentions in the pretrial order, etc. The motion is granted.
On October 10, 1957, the appellants moved to strike the appellee's supplemental brief on the grounds that it was filed too late and not in accordance with the requirements of Rule 18(3) of this Court, 28 U.S.C.A.; that is to say, on September 24, 1957. Although we believe that the appellants are technically correct in their contention, we are also of the view that in a case of this complexity, the rule can be properly relaxed, so as to give the Court the benefit of counsel's views. The motion is denied.
"An aluminum shingle of rectangular shape, said shingle comprising a substantially flat sheet of metal of uniform thickness and the body of which lies substantially in the same plane, corrugations in said shingle spaced laterally of the shingle, said corrugations forming ridges on the inner face of the shingle, the lateral edges of the shingle being reversely turned on opposite faces of said shingle providing curved outer edge portions for interlocking the shingle with laterally adjacent shingles, the top and bottom edge portions of the shingle being reversely turned on opposite faces thereof, each of said top and bottom turned edge portions comprising a half-round portion, one side of which is tangent to the plane of the shingle and the other side of which terminates in a reversely curved portion, the turned bottom portion forming a gutter and the reversely curved portion thereof being engageable with a reversely curved top edge portion of a lower adjacent shingle to form a close fit there-between, a fastening tab integral with the shingle and extending from an upper corner of said shingle for securing the same to a roof structure, and a drain slot disposed in the gutter of said shingle for draining water therefrom, said corrugation ridges on the inner face of the shingle adapted to space said reversely turned top edge portion of the lower adjacent shingle from the inner face of said shingle so that moisture can travel along the inner face of the shingle and into said gutter."
"The Court: There is no law in patent cases. A patent case is a question of fact.
"The Court: I say, there is no law in a patent case. A patent case is a question of fact.
"Mr. Kolisch: The Court of Appeals discusses that, also, the questions of fact and questions of law.
"The Court: It is only a question of fact. That is all there is, a question of fact. I don't care what the Circuit Court said about it, anyway."
The appellants complain that the District Court erred in this holding.
We agree with the appellants that the above statement of the Court was erroneous.
"The standard of patentability is a constitutional standard; and the question of validity of a patent is a question of law."
"In cases of patents for inventions, a valid defense, not given by the statute, often arises where the question is whether the thing patented amounts to a patentable invention. This being a question of law, the courts are not bound by the decision of the commissioner, although he must necessarily pass upon it. [Many cases cited.]"
If further authority were needed, it could be found in the bulging libraries of text and decisional patent law.
3. Once Invalidity Is Established, It Is Unnecessary to Consider the Question of Infringement.
There is a growing and pragmatical tendency among courts not to inquire into the alleged infringement of a patent once it has been found to be invalid.
Realizing that an invalid patent cannot be infringed, many Federal courts have correctly proceeded no further after finding a patent void.
"Whether, assuming Claim 1's validity, appellant might be entitled to prevail on the closer issue of infringement, we think it unnecessary for us to decide. Expressly pretermitting any holding upon that issue, we prefer to predicate our decision on what appears to us more solid ground, i. e. the proven invalidity of the patent in suit, both as anticipated in fact by the prior art, and for its failure, as a matter of law, to disclose that degree of novelty now required in order to vest a patentee with the statutory monopoly which an enforceable patent grants. [Cases cited.]"
In their answer, the appellants asserted that the appellee's alleged invention has been anticipated in thirteen letters patent. In the pre-trial order, the appellants' "Contentions" are alleged to include, inter alia, assertions that the alleged invention was anticipated by eight domestic and one foreign patent. The appellants' exhibits listed in the pre-trial order, however, include copies of eleven patents.
The Westinghouse case was cited with approval by Mr. Justice (later Mr. Chief Justice) Stone in Smith v. Snow, 294 U.S. 1, 16, 55 S. Ct. 279, 79 L. Ed. 721, upon this precise point dealing with proceedings in the Patent Office. See also Campbell Metal Window Corporation v. S. H. Pomeroy & Co., supra, D.C.N.Y., 1924, 300 F. 872, 874, twice quoted and twice cited by the appellee itself.
Again, in the appellants' reply brief, it is pointed out that "this is a clear case for application of the doctrine of file wrapper estoppel for the reason that the term `drain slot' does not read squarely upon the accused product". This again is the language of infringement, not of validity.
As has already been stated, however, we believe that the issue of validity is dispositive of this appeal.
"8. A shingle comprising a rectangular metal sheet having in its central portion a double fold dividing it into upper and lower halves, one half having a plurality of spaced transverse ridges embossed on its upper side dividing it into panels of three different widths, namely, a plurality of relatively small panels of the same width, a plurality of relatively large panels, each approximately twice the width of a small panel, and a plurality of panels of intermediate width, each approximately one-half wider than one of said small panels, the ridges being arranged so that adjacent panels are of different widths and large panels are at the ends of said half, and the other of said halves having a plurality of spaced transverse ridges embossed on the upper side, each of the latter ridges bisecting one of the panels on said first-mentioned half."
The appellants point out that Miller calls for a shingle with transverse ridges, which are comparable to the appellee's "corrugations", "spaced laterally", "said corrugations forming ridges on the inner face of the shingle". Miller's reversely turned flanges, correspond to the appellee's "lateral edges * * * reversely turned on opposite faces" of the shingles. Other similarities are found in Miller's edge, rounded, and curved portions of flanges, underturned and overturned flanges, open corner, etc.
In commenting upon the asserted parallelism, the appellee complains that the "appellants have made no entry of any element in Miller that would correspond to the rectangular form" of an aluminum shingle in the appellee's patent. "This is for the reason that Miller does not show an `aluminum' shingle," the appellee declares.
"Hotchkiss Ex'x v. Greenwood, 11 How. 248, 13 L. Ed. 683: Doorknob made of clay rather than metal or wood, where different shaped door knobs had previously been made of clay.
"Union Paper Collar Co. v. Van Dusen, 23 Wall. 530, 23 L. Ed. 128: Making collars of parchment paper where linen paper and linen had previously been used."
(2) Conversely, de Sincay does not limit the purpose of his invention as being to prevent the leakage of rain water. In fact, "rain water" is mentioned only once in his letters patent, while both in his provisional specification and his final specification de Sincay uses the terms "wet", "moisture", and "any water".
(3) Korter's claim itself states that the slot is for "draining water". Inner "moisture" is mentioned later.
In any event, water is still H2O, whethit is driven in from the rain and wind on the outside or comes from condensation occurring on the inner surface of a shingle.
"Preston v. Manard, 116 U.S. 661, 6 S. Ct. 695, 29 L. Ed. 763: A hose reel of large diameter so that water may flow through hose while it is wound on the reel." [Emphasis supplied.] 340 U.S. at page 157, 71 S. Ct. at page 132.
Having examined each of the ten prior patents contained in the book of exhibits that forms part of the record on this appeal, we find that, considered together, in one respect or another they anticipate the patent in suit.
It is well settled, in this Circuit and elsewhere, that a claim is construed in the light of the specification.
We have already noted that Korter's specification states that "the basis of this invention" is the "drain slot". The appellee is bound by this self-imposed limitation.
But even if it were not so bound, the appellee's position would not be improved; for, as we have just seen in the preceding section, there is nothing else new in the patent.
The appellee concedes that his patent claim is of the combination type.
7. At Most, the Appellee's Patent Teaches an Improvement of One Part of an Old Combination, and Therefore Does Not Amount to Invention.
"The feature that is indispensable is the fact that the drain slot must be disposed in the gutter of the shingle `for draining water therefrom', as is set forth in Korter's claim."
Furthermore, we find by actual count that the expression "drain slot", "drain opening", "slot", or "opening" appears 75 times in the appellee's 72-page brief, or an average of more than once in every page. This does not include the frequent references to a "crack" or a "crevice".
In other words, the explicit reference in the appellee's specification to its "drain slot" as "the basis of this invention" is not an isolated and thoughtless admission. It represents the carefully-considered and fundamental belief of the patentee and his assignee.
Be that as it may, the "drain slot" is, in fact and in law, the nearest approach to an "improvement" over the prior art.
And in a combination patent, such an "improvement" does not amount to invention.
8. In Upholding the Patent, the District Court Failed to Make the Necessary Specific Finding of "An Additional and Different Function in Combination".
In the Kwikset Locks case, supra, 210 F.2d at page 486, we pointed out that, in Atlantic & Pacific, supra, "The Supreme Court further requires that in order for a combination patent to be upheld, there must be a specific finding that the old elements which made up this device perform an additional and different function in combination, than they perform out of it."
As in Kwikset Locks, "No such finding was made in the case at bar." Regardless of any other defect, such a lack makes it impossible for the present decree to be sustained.
"The drain slot * * * forms the basis of this invention," the inventor has told us.
In other words, his patent is built upon a foundation even less substantial than sand. It is constructed upon a slot — in other words, upon a hole.
Such a patent cannot stand. At most, it "is merely a mincing step forward".
We hold that the appellee's patent, Korter No. 2,631,552, is invalid for want of novelty and invention, being anticipated by the prior art.
I think that Judge LEMMON'S opinion performs a particularly useful service in doing away with a frequent misapprehension that the question of the validity of a claim of a patent is solely one of fact. In this case there was no patentable invention for the simple reason that it comes precisely within the language of Lincoln Engineering Co. of Illinois v. Stewart-Warner Corp., 303 U.S. 545, 549, 58 S. Ct. 662, 664, 82 L. Ed. 1008: "The mere aggregation of a number of old parts or elements which, in the aggregation, perform or produce no new or different function or operation than that theretofore performed or produced by them, is not patentable invention." The quoted statement is a rule of law. It sets a legal standard or test of invention. For failure to meet this legal standard appellee must fail. Thus we determine that there is no invention here as a matter of law.
I have no doubt that an uncritical reading of these various statements found in our decisions might give rise to some confusion.4 If I thought that our holding in the present case that the question of the validity of this patent is one of law represented a true conflict with prior holdings of this court, I would think it important that we should call for a hearing by the whole court sitting en banc in order to resolve that conflict. But I am satisfied from a study of our prior decisions that the conflict is more apparent that real.
Prior to the decision of the Supreme Court in Great A. & P. Tea Co. v. Supermarket Equipment Corp., 340 U.S. 147, 71 S. Ct. 127, this court stated and seems to have held in an extended line of decisions that the question of invention presented a question of fact. A case much cited was Ralph N. Brodie Co. v. Hydraulic Press Mfg. Co., 9 Cir., 151 F.2d 91, 94, where in referring to the appellant's contention that the combinations did not involve invention and that therefore the claims were invalid, we said: "The question thus presented was one of fact." In so holding we relied upon Thomson Spot Welder Co. v. Ford Motor Co., 265 U.S. 445, 446, 44 S. Ct. 533, 534, 68 L. Ed. 1098, where the Court said: "The question whether an improvement requires mere mechanical skill or the exercise of the faculty of invention, is one of fact; and in an action at law for infringement is to be left to the determination of the jury." Other earlier decisions of this court expressing similar views are Maulsby v. Conzevoy, 161 F.2d 165, 167; Refrigeration Engineering v. York Corp., 168 F.2d 896; Faulkner v. Gibbs, 170 F.2d 34, and Lane-Wells Co. v. M. O. Johnston Oil Field Serv. Corp., 181 F.2d 707. However, on December 4, 1950, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Great A. & P. Tea Co. v. Supermarket Equipment Corp., supra, involving a combination patent. It noted that "The Court of Appeals regarded this finding of invention as one of fact, sustained by substantial evidence, and affirmed it as not clearly erroneous." It spoke of the inadequacy of its earlier decisions in defining the indicia of invention a court should require, referring to the "imprecision of our language" and said that the Court "* * * never has ventured to give a precise and comprehensive definition of the test to be applied in such cases." The Court then restated the standard applied in Lincoln Engineering Co. v. Stewart-Warner Corp., quoted supra, and rejected the argument that since two courts had made findings of fact in favor of the alleged invention the Supreme Court should not undertake to review them. It said (340 U.S. at page 153, 71 S. Ct. at page 131): "The questions of general importance considered here are not contingent upon resolving conflicting testimony, for the facts are little in dispute. We set aside no finding of fact as to invention, for none has been made except as to the extension of the counter, which cannot stand as a matter of law."5 (Emphasis added) The courts of appeals began to recognize that in the Great A. & P. Tea Co. decision the Supreme Court had now more precisely defined the nature of the judicial process by which the question of invention is to be determined and from that time on this court has generally adhered to the rule which Judge Lemmon has so well stated for us in this decision.
The first real test of where this court stood following the Great A. & P. Tea Co. case came in Himes v. Chadwick, 9 Cir., 199 F.2d 100. In that case a jury returned a verdict finding the claims in issue to be valid and infringed. Upon a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, the court (Judge Lemmon presiding), granted the motion and entered judgment holding the claims in issue to be invalid. On appeal it was argued that the question of the presence or absence of patentable invention was a question of fact within the province of the jury to determine and the right of the court to determine invalidity of the patents notwithstanding the jury's verdict was challenged. In dealing with the question of the right and duty of the trial judge to direct a verdict in a patent case, where the circumstances indicated that the jury had departed from the relevant legal criteria for determining patentability, this court cited and relied upon the Third Circuit's decision in Packwood v. Briggs & Stratton Corp., 195 F.2d 971, 973, a case which duly noted the significance of Great A. & P. Tea Co.6 We gave emphatic approval to the discussion by that court of the proposition that over the years the Supreme Court has developed and laid down rules and standards for use as guides in the determination of what is invention within the meaning of the Constitution and the patent laws. Using the language of the Packwood case: "Once such standards and rules are authoritatively announced any finding of `invention' whether by a court or a jury must be consistent with them", this court proceeded to sustain the judgment of invalidity notwithstanding the verdict of validity. The claims involved did not measure up to established legal standards for invention.
This case was followed by our decision in Kwikset Locks v. Hillgren, supra. Thereafter, in Coleman Co. v. Holly Manufacturing Co., 233 F.2d 71, notwithstanding the trial court in upholding the validity of the patent there involved, had made elaborate findings of fact, Judge Bone, speaking for this court, examined the findings and the evidence at great length in the light of the teachings of Great A. & P. Tea Co., and after carefully testing the devices there involved against the legal standards for determination of invention and patentability laid down in that case, concluded that the device measured up to those standards and accordingly upheld the validity of the patent. I have noted Judge Barnes' statement in Oriental Foods v. Chun King Sales, supra, that "The standard of invention is written in the Constitution." In so stating he relied specifically on both the majority and the concurring opinions in the Great A. & P. Tea Co. case.
In the Leishman case, as in the Graver case, the question of invention involved mixed questions of fact and law. The legal standard was a most simple one, namely, that to have invention there must be something new. In each of those cases the legal standard was not satisfied if the prior art had produced the same thing that was claimed in the invention. In Graver the court found that the prior art did not include the principle claimed. In Leishman, the trial court found that the prior art did include it. In each case the decision "turned upon" a question of fact; but in neither case could it properly be said without qualification that the question of validity of a claim of a patent is one of fact.
Our cases decided since Great A. & P. Tea Co., are not inconsistent with what I think is well stated in Deller's Walker on Patents, 1957 Supp., to page 115 of Volume 1 of the original text, as follows: "The conflict between the statement that the question of invention is one of fact and the almost innumerable instances in which the courts have dealt with it as though it were one of law, can only be explained by breaking the question of patentable invention down into its component parts: what the prior art was and what the patentee did to improve upon it, and then, whether what the patentee did is properly to be classified as an invention. The nature of the prior art and the nature of what the patentee did to improve upon it must always be questions of fact. The question of the name to be given to what was done by the patentee, whether it is to be called an invention over the prior art or whether it is not, is a question fundamentally of the meaning of the words used in the statute [35 U.S.C. § 31], and as such would seem to be a question of law."
The appellee compounds its error by having "Judge Learned Hand" "adopt", in the opinion in 194 F. 427, "the law set forth"thirteen years later by him in the Campbell Metal Window Corporation case, infra, reported in Volume 300 of the Federal Reporter! The blunder is repeated in the appendix to the appellee's brief, in which, after citing the earlier Westinghouse case, the appellee tells us that Judge Hand "adhered to the general rule as set forth in" the later Campbell case!

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