Opinion ID: 692072
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: 18th Century English Practice.

Text: 91 The panel asserts that prior to the Declaratory Judgment Act in 1934, [v]alidity simply was not litigated in isolation from an infringement claim. In fact it was in England at the time the Seventh Amendment was adopted. A separate nullification action, similar to the present day declaratory judgment action, could be brought before the English equity court. In England, prior to 1791, anyone could challenge a patent's validity by a scire facias writ in equity. See Mowry v. Whitney, 81 U.S. (14 Wall) 434, 439-40, 20 L.Ed. 858 (1871); United States v. Stone, 69 U.S. (2 Wall) 525, 535, 17 L.Ed. 765 (1864). The scire facias to repeal a patent was brought in chancery where the patent was of record. And though in this country the writ of scire facias is not in use as a chancery proceeding, the nature of the chancery jurisdiction and its mode of proceeding have established it as the appropriate tribunal for the annulling of a grant of patent from the government. Mowry, 81 U.S. (14 Wall) at 440. 7 92 The panel acknowledges only one of the three situations in which a writ of scire facias was grantable. Majority op. at 974-75 n. 9. Contrary to the panel's view, a scire facias could issue for the following reasons: 93 1. A previous patent had issued on the invention [There was no administrative examination before issuance]; 94 2. Fraud [Inequitable conduct]; 95 3. Unlawful grant [Invalid patent]. 96 Mowry, 81 U.S. (14 Wall.) at 439; Stone, 69 U.S. (2 Wall.) at 535; 2 William C. Robinson, The Law of Patents, Sec. 726 (1890). 97 The panel also declares that, even if a writ of scire facias is the closest 18th Century analog, a party to such a suit could demand a jury trial in a court of equity as a matter of right. Majority op. at 975 n. 9. The matter of right in patent cases is an overstatement. Frequently equity courts decided the facts respecting validity themselves or treated juries as advisory, merely to inform the conscience of the court. Cochrane v. Deener, 94 U.S. 780, 783, 24 L.Ed. 139 (1876); see also Johnson v. Harmon, 94 U.S. 371, 372, 24 L.Ed. 271 (1876); Van Iderstine v. National Discount Co., 227 U.S. 575, 580, 33 S.Ct. 343, 344, 57 L.Ed. 652 (1913); 2 Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution, 553 (5th Ed.1891); Fleming James, Jr., Right to a Jury Trial in Civil Actions, 72 Yale L.J. 655, 655 (1963). 8 98 Since the first part of the test to determine whether the Seventh Amendment requires a jury trial is negated by this English equity action, that should end the inquiry. 9 99