Faulkner v. Gibbs
| Decision Date | 07 November 1949 |
| Docket Number | No. 19,19 |
| Citation | 94 L.Ed. 62,70 S.Ct. 25,338 U.S. 267 |
| Parties | FAULKNER v. GIBBS |
| Court | U.S. Supreme Court |
See 338 U.S. 896, 70 S.Ct. 236.
Messrs. Robert W. Fulwider, Los Angeles, Cal., James P. Burns, Washington, D.C., for petitioner.
Mr. Herbert A. Huebner, Los Angeles, Cal., for respondent.
The controversy here concerned the validity of Patent No. 1,906,260, issued to respondent, May 2, 1933, and its alleged infringement by petitioner. The District Court found the patent to be valid and infringed. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed, 1948, 170 F.2d 34. Being moved by the petition for certiorari that there was a conflict with Halliburton Oil Well Cementing Co. v. Walker, 1946, 329 U.S. 1, 67 S.Ct. 6, 91 L.Ed. 3, we granted certiorari. 336 U.S. 935, 69 S.Ct. 746.
The record, briefs and arguments of counsel lead us to the view that Halliburton, supra, is inapposite. We there held the patent invalid because its language was too broad at the precise point of novelty. In the instant case, the patent has been sustained because of the fact of combination rather than the novelty of any particular element.
After the suit in this cause was initiated in the District Court, petitioner modified his device. The courts below held that this modification was insubstantial and did not place petitioner outside the scope of respondent's patent.
We will not disturb the concurrent findings upon the issues presented to us in the petition for certiorari. We are not persuaded that the findings are shown to be clearly erroneous. The judgment is affirmed.
Affirmed.
Mr. Justice BLACK is of the opinion that the language of the claims was too broad at the precise point where there was novelty, if there was novelty anywhere.
Mr. Justice DOUGLAS took no part in the consideration or decision of this case.
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Estelle v. Williams
...erroneous. See, E. g., Blau v. Lehman, 368 U.S. 403, 408-409, 82 S.Ct. 451, 454-455, 7 L.Ed.2d 403 (1962); Faulkner v. Gibbs, 338 U.S. 267, 268, 70 S.Ct. 25, 94 L.Ed. 62 (1949); United States v. Dickinson, 331 U.S. 745, 751, 67 S.Ct. 1382, 1386, 91 L.Ed. 1789 (1947); United States v. Commer......
-
Delco Chemicals v. Cee-Bee Chemical Co.
...299 U.S. 201, 205, 57 S.Ct. 159, 81 L.Ed. 123; Faulkner v. Gibbs, 9 Cir., 1948, 170 F.2d 34, 37, affirmed per curiam 1949, 338 U.S. 267, 70 S.Ct. 25, 94 L.Ed. 62. But the broad question of validity may encompass a variety of issues, both factual and legal. 35 U.S.C. § Whether a method or "p......
-
Vendo Company v. Lektro Vend Corporation
...District Court and the Court of Appeals are in agreement, the scope of review in this Court is even more narrow, Faulkner v. Gibbs, 338 U.S. 267, 268, 70 S.Ct. 25, 94 L.Ed. 62; United States v. Dickinson, 331 U.S. 745, 751, 67 S.Ct. 1382, 1386, 91 L.Ed. 1789; Allen v. Trust Co., 326 U.S. 63......
-
International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. United States Inc v. United States
...of Appeals on this basic issue. See Blau v. Lehman, 368 U.S. 403, 408-409, 82 S.Ct. 451, 454, 7 L.Ed.2d 403; Faulkner v. Gibbs, 338 U.S. 267, 268, 70 S.Ct. 25, 94 L.Ed. 62; United States v. Dickinson, 331 U.S. 745, 751, 67 S.Ct. 1382, 1386, 91 L.Ed. 1789; United States v. Commercial Credit ......
-
The Rosetta Stone for the doctrine of means-plus-function patent claims.
...but see Hilton Davis Chem. Co. v. Warner Jenkinson Co., 62 F.3d at 1570 (Nies, J., dissenting), rev'd, 117 S. Ct. 1040 (1997). (194.) 338 U.S. 267, 267-68 (1948) (deciding not to disturb the concurrent findings upon the issue before the (195.) See id. at 267. (196.) See id. at 267-68. (197.......