Hopkins v. Waco Products
| Decision Date | 23 June 1953 |
| Docket Number | No. 10780.,10780. |
| Citation | 205 F.2d 221 |
| Parties | HOPKINS v. WACO PRODUCTS, Inc. ALAN'S SALES ENGINEERS v. HOPKINS. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
George H. Wallace, Charles B. Cannon, and Wallace & Cannon, all of Chicago, Ill., for appellant.
Mayer Goldberg, Dugald S. McDougall, and Leo Klein, all of Chicago, Ill., Joseph Minsky, Chicago, Ill., of counsel, for appellee.
Before DUFFY, LINDLEY and SWAIM, Circuit Judges.
Hopkins, doing business as Lake City Products, brought an action against Waco Products, Inc. (hereinafter called Waco) for infringement of his design patent D-156,008. Alan's Sales Engineers, Inc., in a separate suit against Hopkins, sought a declaratory judgment that design patent D-156,008 was invalid for lack of invention. The two actions were consolidated and tried together. The district court found the patent invalid. Hopkins had also alleged unfair competition and violation of the Illinois State Fair Trade Act, S.H.A.Ill. ch. 121½, § 188 et seq., but these claims were dismissed for lack of federal jurisdiction and are not before us on appeal. The only issue here is the validity of plaintiff's design patent.
Design patent D-156,008 covers a folding baggage rack with crossed legs, largely used in hotels. Except for four straps made of heavy woven fabric, the rack is constructed almost entirely of tubular steel. The principal parts are two inverted U-shaped members, the sides of one of which, being more widely separated, form the outer legs of the rack, and are pivotally connected to the sides of the other U-shaped member, which thus become the inner legs thereof. A smaller tubular rod connects the two pivotal joints. About 3 inches to 4 inches from the ends of the legs of the rack, the metal tubes are bent inwardly so that the bottoms of the legs rest flatly on the floor when the rack is in an open position.
The upper end of the larger U-shaped member, because of an extension from the sides of that member, extends higher from the floor and farther from the center of the rack than the upper end of the smaller U-shaped member, creating a wall guard. At each side of this member, at the level of the "platform," the tube extends in a curve rearwardly about 4 inches, and then curves upwardly about 4 inches, and rounds into the cross member, that is, the upper end of the larger U-shaped member. The "wall guard" thus consists of the portion extending rearwardly 4 inches from the sides of the larger U-shaped member, then upwardly 4 inches, and also the upper end of the "U" which joins the two sides — all of which is part of the tube making up the whole of the larger U-shaped member. Where the sides extend rearwardly as above described, a horizontal bar or tube is attached crosswise, this being at a level with the upper end of the smaller U-shaped member and parallel to it. Four straps, parallel to each other, extend from this bar to the upper end of the smaller U-shaped member, and the bar, the upper end of the smaller U-shaped member, and the straps thus create a platform for luggage when the rack is in the open position. Because the straps are flexible, the rack may be collapsed in a position where one U-shaped member is placed immediately adjacent to the other U-shaped member, the straps being folded between them. When collapsed and not in use the rack may be stored in a relatively small space.
Since the two U-shaped members are each made from one long tube bent in the fashion described, and there are no sharp joints, the various curves of the rack are graceful and sweeping. Finished in chrome the appearance of the rack is pleasing to the eye. Many of the best known hotels in the country purchased these luggage racks from plaintiff, who advertised them as "de luxe wall-guard chrome baggage stands."
Hopkins bad years of experience as a hotel manager. He testified that on many occasions he went into nicely decorated hotel rooms and found the walls marred and furniture damaged because of careless handling of baggage. He conceived the idea that a different type luggage stand was needed. In 1945 he was on terms of personal friendship with Frank Troccoli, the president of Waco, which at that time was fabricating and selling a line of bar stools, chairs, and chrome furniture, in which tubular metal was used. Troccoli instructed Tom Kolar, his plant engineer, to work with Hopkins on the project of a luggage rack with a wall guard. Hopkins testified that he told Kolar that he desired to work out a streamlined luggage stand with a wall protector bar extending about 3 inches further back than in the conventional type stand, and also about 3 inches higher. A model was prepared, and the first commercial delivery was made in September, 1946.
Waco manufactured the baggage racks for Hopkins during 1947 and 1948, charging a fixed price. In the early part of 1949 Waco suggested that Hopkins pay a higher price for the racks and Hopkins then made arrangements to have them manufactured elsewhere. There was no written agreement between Hopkins and Waco at any time as to the manufacture of the racks, unless Troccoli's letter of May 1, 1947, hereinafter discussed, was a contract, as Hopkins contends. Waco continued to sell the luggage racks with the wall protector feature to others, being of the same design, appearance and utility as had been manufactured for Hopkins.
On April 23, 1947, Hopkins applied for a design patent which was issued on November 15, 1949. In his correspondence with the Patent Office, during the prosecution of the patent, Hopkins argued that the balance of the inward curve of the bottom of the legs against the upward curve of the back or wall guard constituted the dominant element of his design. He pointed out that one curve complemented the other.
Title 35, U.S.C.A., § 731, provides that "Any person who has invented any new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture, not known or used by others in this country before his invention thereof, * * * may * * * obtain a patent therefor."
Such a patent must disclose a design that is original, ornamental and inventive in character. Hueter...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
O'BRIEN v. Westinghouse Electric Corporation
...Co., D.C.E.D.Wis.1955, 18 F.R.D. 347, 348; Hopkins v. Waco Products, Inc., D.C.N.D.Ill.1952, 107 F.Supp. 885, 888, affirmed 7 Cir., 1953, 205 F.2d 221. To the extent that these cases are contrary to our holding here, we disagree with 18 In Kleinman v. Betty Dain Creations, 2 Cir., 1951, 189......
-
Amerock Corporation v. Aubrey Hardware Mfg., Inc.
...skill of the ordinary designer or draftsman." Spaulding v. Guardian Light Company, 7 Cir., 1959, 267 F.2d 111, 112; Hopkins v. Waco Products, 7 Cir., 1953, 205 F.2d 221; Hueter v. Compco Corporation, 7 Cir., 1950, 179 F.2d 416; Capex Co. v. Swartz, 7 Cir., 1948, 166 F.2d 5; Zangerle & Peter......
-
Laskowitz v. Marie Designer, Inc.
...55 F.2d 486, 487, 488, 19 C.C.P.A., Patents, 880 and see, In re Bigelow, supra, Note 13, 194 F.2d at page 550; Hopkins v. Waco Products, Inc., 7 Cir., 1953, 205 F.2d 221, 223-224. 15 15 U.S.C.A., § 1051 et seq. 16 Restatement, Torts, Sec. 728; see also, Restatement, Torts, Sec. 727. See, th......
-
Hygienic Specialties Co. v. Salzman, Inc.
...on the side of the dish.8 A design dictated solely by mechanical or functional requirements is not patentable, Hopkins v. Waco Products, Inc., 205 F.2d 221, 223 (7th Cir. 1953); Blisscraft of Hollywood v. United Plastics Co., 189 F. Supp. 333, 337 (S.D.N.Y.1960), aff'd, 294 F.2d 694 (2nd Ci......