Source: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/335/560/
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 20:06:09+00:00

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Justia › US Law › US Case Law › US Supreme Court › Volume 335 › Jungersen v. Ostby & Barton Co.
1. All of the claims of Jungersen Patent No. 2, 118,468, for a "method of casting articles of intricate design and a product thereof," held invalid for want of invention. Pp. 335 U. S. 561-568.
2. An examination of the prior art as it existed at the time of this alleged invention reveals that every step in the Jungersen method was anticipated, and it appears that Jungersen's combination of these steps was, in its essential features, also well known in the art. Pp. 335 U. S. 563-564.
3. Where centrifugal force was common as a means of introducing molten metal into a secondary mould, its use in an intermediate step to force molten wax into a primary mould was not an exemplification of inventive genius such as is necessary to render a patent valid. Pp. 335 U. S. 564-567.
4. It is not sufficient to say that jewelry casting is a separate and distinct art where the patent is not restricted to the casting of jewelry and the prior improvements in the art of casting were so obviously applicable to the casting of jewelry that the patentee was bound by knowledge of them. P. 335 U. S. 567.
5. Where invention is plainly lacking, the fact that a process has enjoyed considerable commercial success does not render a patent on it valid. Pp. 335 U. S. 567-568.
163 F.2d 312, affirmed in part and reversed in part.
infringed, and certain other claims invalid. 65 F.Supp. 652. The Court of Appeals affirmed. 163 F.2d 312. This Court denied petitions of both parties for certiorari, 332 U.S. 851-852, but, after a conflicting decision in another circuit in No. 48, vacated those orders and granted certiorari. 334 U.S. 835. No. 7 affirmed, and No. 8 reversed, p. 335 U. S. 568.
No. 48. In a suit for damages, profits, and injunctive relief for alleged infringement of a patent, the District Court held all claims of the patent invalid. 69 F.Supp. 922. The Court of Appeals affirmed. 166 F.2d 807. This Court granted certiorari. 334 U.S. 835. Affirmed, p. 335 U. S. 568.
The issue here is the validity of United States Patent No. 2,118,468 which covers a "method of casting articles of intricate design, and a product thereof."
Court. 163 F.2d 312. We denied petitions by both parties for certiorari. 332 U.S. 851, 852.
In 1944, Jungersen filed suit against Baden in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in which he alleged infringement of the patent and sought damages, profits, and injunctive relief. That court held all the claims invalid. 69 F.Supp. 922. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed. 166 F.2d 807.
Vacating the prior orders which denied it in the Ostby and Barton proceeding, we granted certiorari in both cases in order to settle the conflict. 334 U.S. 835. [Footnote 1] Since the parties do not assert error in those portions of the lower courts' decisions which concern infringement, the sole issue before us is the validity of the patent.
of the wax or similar material from the secondary mould, or "investment" as it is called, by the application of heat, thus melting it out, and, finally, (6) the casting of the desired molten metal into the cavity in the investment by the application of centrifugal force, as in (3) above.
"small metal articles, particularly articles of intricate detail such as jewelry which frequently are designed with hollows, undercut portions, and perforations, so that they will have a smooth, clean surface faithful in detail to the original and free from imperfections or holes, and to enable such result's being accomplished with the minimum of expense."
The patentee claims that it made possible the accurate reproduction of intricate designs in far less time than had previously been required.
Claim 5 describes in more general terms the formation of a primary mould around the original pattern, the removal of the pattern from the mould, the introduction of molten wax into the mould "by force sufficient to deposit the material into the depression or depressions of the primary mould," and the employment of the wax pattern for the manufacture of a casting mould. Claim 6 covers "an article of jewelry" of intricate design made by the process disclosed by Claim 5. It describes the article of jewelry only by reference to the process by which it is manufactured. Obviously, if the first four claims are invalid, the last two must likewise fall.
An examination of the prior art as it existed at the time of this alleged invention reveals that every step in the Jungersen method was anticipated. We think that his combination of these steps was, in its essential features, also well known in the art.
"a casting in metal from a given pattern, which casting will be a perfect copy of such pattern without requiring much, if any, after finishing or chiseling work."
intricate details of the mould. Haseltine applied pressure of about twenty pounds per square inch to cause the molten metal "to lie to the dense mould and produce a sharp and well defined casting." He accomplished this by introducing the metal into the mould through a pipe about six feet in height. [Footnote 4] United States Patent No. 1,238,789 issued to Kralund in 1917 teaches the application of pressure to the wax and the molten metal by means of an ordinary pressure die casting apparatus.
"to the casting of jewelry, such as gold rings, small trinkets, etc., where metal or other dies or moulds may be . . . filled by centrifugal casting methods."
"a means for transferring fused material from the furnace [in which the material was melted] to the mould under the action of centrifugal force."
"It was natural, therefore, that engineers should early turn their attention to some form of artificial pressure whereby the mould could be filled by force, and soundness and clean definition seemingly assured."
"The simplest form of artificial pressure is that of centrifugal force. . . . [Footnote 5] "
for a purpose long familiar in the field of casting. His claimed improvement is therefore not patentable.
The patentee contends, however, that jewelry casting is a separate and distinct art; that, consequently, the advancements in other types of casting mentioned above cannot be viewed as the prior art in reference to this patent. The answer to this is two-fold. In the first place, this patent is not restricted to the casting of jewelry. Its stated object is to "facilitate the casting of small metal articles, particularly articles of intricate detail such as jewelry. . . ." Secondly we think that the improvements in the art of casting which were disclosed by the patents and publications discussed above were so obviously applicable to the type of casting sought to be effected by Jungersen that he was bound by knowledge of them. Mandel Bros. v. Wallace, 335 U. S. 291, 335 U. S. 295-296.
Numerous licenses under the patent were issued in the United States and other countries. The fact that this process has enjoyed considerable commercial success, however, does not render the patent valid. It is true that, in cases where the question of patentable invention is a close one, such success has weight in tipping the scales of judgment toward patentability. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Ray-O-Vac. Co., 321 U. S. 275, 321 U. S. 279, and cases cited in footnote 5 thereof Where, as here, however, invention is plainly lacking, commercial success cannot fill the void. Dow Chemical Co. v. Halliburton Oil Well Cementing Co., 324 U. S. 320, 324 U. S. 330; Toledo Pressed Steel Co. v. Standard Parts, Inc., 307 U. S. 350, 307 U. S. 356-357; Textile Machine Works v. Louis Hirsch Textile Machines, 302 U. S. 490, 302 U. S. 498-499; 1 Walker, Patents (Deller, 1937) § 44. Little profit would come from detailed examination of the cases cited above or those indicated by reference. Commercial success is really a makeweight where the patentability question is close.
Increased popular demand for jewelry or alertness in exploitation of the process may well have played an important part in the wide use of the patent. We cannot attribute Jungersen's success solely or even largely to the novelty of his process.
We hold all the claims of the patent invalid for want of invention.
Nos. 7 and 48 affirmed.
* Together with No. 8, Ostby & Barton Co. et al. v. Jungersen, on certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and No. 48, Jungersen v. Baden et al., on certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
In No. 7, we are asked to consider the decision of the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit as to claims 5 and 6, in No. 8, the decision of that court as to claims 1 through 4, and in No. 48, the decision of the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit as to all the claims of the patent.
20 Encyclopaedia Britannica (1948), p. 229.
A French publication by Verleye entitled "La Gravure, etc." (1924) describes in detail all of the elements of Jungersen's process except the use of centrifugal force.
"La Gravure, etc.," supra, note 3 advocates the use of steam pressure.
35 Journal of the Institute of Metals, 371, 377.
"Dental casting methods employ four distinct principles; namely, gravity, centrifugal, vacuum, and pressure. . . ."
"The centrifugal method has the advantage of great simplicity, and fills the mold by the force exerted in throwing the metal off on a tangent while being revolved about a center."
Stern, Diecasting Practice (1st ed., 1930), p. 10.
"Q. And when the machine is revolved, when it is centrifuged, it makes no difference whether it be molten wax or molten metal, does it, in the fact that it throws out the molten material into the gate?"
"A. It would throw out anything of weight if it is made free to leave."
"Q. And that applies to wax as well as metal, does it not?"
"A. It applies to wax and metal, but in a greater amount to the metal than to the wax."
"Q. But they both operate in the same way under the influence of the centrifugal machine?"
"A. The same principle is used, yes."
"Q. And the molten material in both cases is introduced into the mold?"
MR. JUSTICE FRANKFURTER, with whom MR. JUSTICE BURTON joins, dissenting.
This is not one of those patent controversies that carry serious consequences for an important industry, and thereby for the general public. The case does, however, raise basic issues regarding the judiciary's role in our existing patent system. These issues were stated by Judge Learned Hand when the litigation was before the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Since this Court's opinion has not, to my mind, met the questions which he raised, and since I cannot improve upon what Judge Learned Hand wrote, I adopt his opinion as mine.
to force fusible metal into all the crevices of the mould, and that too in a 'lost wax' process, the knowledge of which he appears to have assumed, for he does not disclose how to make the wax model. Kralund also showed a pressure die-casting process, as applied to the 'lost wax' method, and he used pressure to force his wax into intimate connection with the first die as well as upon the molten metal of the final casting; but his original die was of steel, and he does not describe its manufacture."
the category of mental activities, and of those alone. In the case at bar, the answer must therefore depend upon how we shall appraise the departure from what had gone before in terms of creative imagination; indeed, I do not understand what other test could be relevant."
we should accept as authoritative. Moreover, I am not aware of the slightest bias in favor of the present system; I should accept with equanimity a new system or no system. However, I confess myself baffled to know how to proceed if we are at once to profess to apply the system as it is and yet, in every concrete instance, we are to decide as though it did not exist as it is. In the cast at bar, I can only say that, so far as I have been able to comprehend those factors which have been held to determine invention, and to which at least lipservice continues to be paid, the combination in suit has every hallmark of a valid patent."
Judge Hand's opinion is reported at 166 F.2d 811.
§ 31, Title 35 U.S.C.
I think this patent meets the patent statute's every requirement. And, confronted by this record, an industry heretofore galled by futility and frustration may well be amazed at the Court's dismissal of Jungersen's ingenious and successful efforts.
Of course commercial success will not fill any void in an invalid patent. But it may fill the void in our understanding of what the invention has meant to those whose livelihood, unlike our own, depends upon their knowledge of the art. Concededly, in this high-pressure age, sales volume may reflect only powerful promotion or marketing magic, and its significance as an index of novelty or utility may rightly be suspected. But Jungersen's success was grounded not in the gullibility of the public, but in the hard-headed judgment of a highly competitive and critical, if not hostile, industry. Knowing well its need for and its failure to achieve improvements on available processes, that industry discarded them, adopted this outsider's invention, and made it a commercial success.
It would take a singular self-assurance on the part of one who knows as little of this art as I do, or as I can learn in the few hours that can be given to consideration of this case, to ignore the judgment of these competitors who grew up in the industry and say that they did not know something new and useful when they saw it. And if Benvenuto Cellini's age-old writings are so revealing to us laymen of the appellate Bench, it is hard to see why this practical-minded industry which the Court says was following Cellini failed through all the years to get his message.
It would not be difficult to cite many instances of patents that have been granted, improperly I think, and without adequate tests of invention by the Patent Office. But I doubt that the remedy for such Patent Office passion for granting patents is an equally strong passion in this Court for striking them down, so that the only patent that is valid is one which this Court has not been able to get its hands on.

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