Steber Mach. Co. v. Random Knitting Co.

Decision Date12 November 1914
Citation217 F. 796
PartiesSTEBER MACH. CO. v. RANDOM KNITTING CO. et al.
CourtU.S. District Court — Northern District of New York

Richard R. Martin, of Utica, N.Y., for complainant.

Frederick W. Cameron, of Albany, N.Y., for defendants.

RAY District Judge.

The knitting machine patent has no necessary connection with the knitted fabric patent, although the machine was made with special reference to the manufacture or knitting of the knitted fabric. No question is raised of multifariousness or improper joinder, and the evidence has been taken and final hearing had; both parties being content and desirous of having the two patents considered at the same time as well as the question of infringement.

The Random Knitting Company is a corporation and defendants Cummings, Gardner, and Proctor are officers thereof. Gardner and Proctor are directors simply in the corporation, but are not shown to have had anything to do with the alleged infringement, unless it be that they are personally liable because of the fact that they are directors in the corporation. I do not understand that this is sufficient to charge them with infringement. As to the defendant Cummings he was the procuring cause of the infringement, if there be infringement of a valid patent, and acted with full knowledge.

The knitted fabric patent relates to that class of ribbed knitted fabrics which have wales on one side and meshes on the opposite side, and with which is combined a yarn having projected loops which can be submitted to a brushing or jigging action, so as to produce a fleecy surface upon one side of the fabric. The base fabric is formed of an alternating series of longitudinal wales, knit each from a different yarn, or from the same yarn at different times, if so desired. The stitches forming the wales are all drawn toward the outside of the fabric. The loops forming each wale each include a portion of the other yarn connecting the two neighboring loops at the back of the fabric. The connecting portions of the loops form four-sided meshes on the back of the fabric, which thus exhibits on one face parallel longitudinal wales alternately of different yarns, and on the other side lozenge-shaped meshes or reticulations formed by the connecting legs of the loops.

As to the object of the invention the patentee says:

'The object of my invention is to produce a fabric having superior wearing qualities, a considerable amount of elasticity, and a ribbed face side, resembling very nearly the 'Strutt' rib, in conjunction with a fleece side. I attain this object by knitting a fabric from a plurality of threads, the fabric being of double thickness each thread or series of threads forming independent wales alternately arranged, the connecting threads of each set of wales being interknitted with the intervening wales, the wales forming the ribs of one side of the cloth, and the connecting threads forming meshes on the opposite side, the fleecing thread being laid between the wales and meshes.'

The patentee says:

'I have produced this fabric in several ways, but would call especial attention to my knitting machine patent 810,578, issued January 23, 1906, which describes and shows an ideal method of producing such a fabric, and that it may be knitted from one or more pairs of threads.'

While all the claims are in issue, the complainant relies specially on claims 3, 5, and 7, which read as follows:

'3. A knit fabric comprising two alternating series of wales of knit loops, the connecting thread of adjacent wales of each series being caught in and embraced by the knit loops of the intervening wales of the other series and a fleecing yarn looped between the connecting threads. * * *
'5. A knit fabric, all of the knit loops of which appear in wales upon one side, the loops of said wales being drawn between the floats or connecting threads of the adjoining wales, and a fleecing yarn looped loosely through said connecting threads. * * *
'7. A knitted fabric, all of the knit loops of which appear in wales upon one side, the loops of said wales being drawn between and including a portion of the floats or connecting threads of the adjoining wales, and a fleecing yarn looped loosely through said connecting threads.' The defendants contend that the basic web of the patented fabric is not new. The defendants also claim that, the basic web being old, the addition of the supplemental or extra or fleecing or auxiliary thread, it being called by the one or the other of these names, in the mode and manner and for the purposes described, does not constitute invention. Considering the results attained and the utility of the fabric, and its popularity and large sales, all of which are established, I cannot agree with the contention of the defendants, and must and do hold that the patent is valid, and that the presumption of validity has not been seriously shaken, certainly not overcome.

The defendants make a fabric which has the same basic web, and which has the same supplemental or extra or fleecing or auxiliary thread, its fabric inserted and woven in in the same way. There is no evidence Complainant's Exhibit No. 1, Defendants' Fabric, and it is conceded that this was made in or about the month of April, 1913, is not made in accordance with complainant's fabric patent. This seems to me to be identical with the fabric of complainant's patent. The witness Mason states in substance that the defendants' fabric consists of a basic web having on one face a series of longitudinal wales formed by a plurality of knitted loops, which appear to be knit alternately from two different yarns, or from the same yarn at different feeds, and at the back having meshes formed by the legs or floats connecting the loops of alternate wales. The basic web contains a plurality of supplemental fleecing threads or yarns, which lie between the wales on the face of the basic web and the meshes on the back of the same; the supplemental yarn being projected in the form of loops, which are pulled through the meshes at the back of the fabric. The witness also states, in substance, that in defendants' fabric the loops of the supplemental fleecing yarn are also found to some extent on the face of the fabric; that is, on the side showing the needle wales. The witness Mason says, and this court agrees with the conclusion, that the fact that in the defendants' fabric the auxiliary yarn has loops on the so-called face of the fabric in addition to the loops on the back does not avoid the conclusion in any way that defendants' fabric is within the claims of the patent in suit.

If the Steber fabric must be made with at least two body threads, and the defendants' fabric is made with one body thread only, it is possible and probable that infringement is avoided, if that is the only fabric made by the defendants, or the exhibit referred to the alleged infringing goods in evidence and conceded to have been made by the defendants is made with one body or web thread only. I am of the opinion that the Steber patented fabric is not necessarily made with two or more body yarns. The Steber patent says that the base fabric is formed of an alternating series of longitudinal wales knitted each from a different yarn, or from the same yarn at different times, if so desired. It is conceded that if the Steber patented fabric must necessarily be made on the machine shown in the patent No. 810,578, for knitting machines, that there would be used a plurality of yarns, one for each of the alternating series of wales. But the fabric is not confined to that machine, and nothing in the fabric patent in suit limits the production of the fabric described in it to any particular machine or to any particular method. The fabric patent says that the inventor has produced the fabric in several ways. I do not think it is denied that the infringing goods in evidence does not have in it two body or base threads. The witness Mason is positive on this point and says:

'I have made a careful examination of this fabric since my former affidavit was executed, and I am now able to say that the basic web of said fabric is made of a plurality of yarns, and not of a single yarn.'

It is also contended by the defendants that their fabric does not infringe, for the reason that it has supplemental loops, or more properly loops of the supplemental thread, not only on the mesh side or back of the goods, but, also to some extent on the face of the goods. It is self-evident that in the fabric made by defendants usually, if not always, more or less of the loops of the supplemental or extra or fleecing or auxiliary threat are found on both sides of the fabric, but very few of these loops comparatively appear on the front of the goods.

This patent is for a product, a knitted fabric, and if the defendants make the knitted fabric of the Steber patent in suit it is immaterial, in the opinion of this court, that they in manufacturing leave the supplemental thread in such shape that some loops are found on the front side of the goods, or that some supplemental or additional loops on the front side are added by any means. In my judgment the addition of this supplemental thread in such a manner as to leave some loops on the front side, as well as all the loops demanded by the Steber patent in suit on the back, does not avoid infringement. The appearance of the fabric is, of course, changed; but it is the Steber fabric with the same basic web and the same supplemental or extra thread added in substantially the same way, and the result is the same as in the Steber patent, except that some loops are added on the front side. The defendants' fabric comprises two alternating series of wales of knit loops, the connecting thread of adjacent wales of each series being...

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3 cases
  • Dangler v. Imperial Mach. Co.
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit
    • March 5, 1926
    ...Co. v. Sachs Co., 175 F. 70, 99 C. C. A. 92; Vapor Car Heating Co. v. Gold, etc., Co. (D. C.) 296 F. 201, 203; Steber Mach. Co. v. Random Knitting Co. (D. C.) 217 F. 796; D'Arcy Spring Co. v. Marshall Ventilated Mattress Co., 259 F. 236, 170 C. C. A. 304; Proudfit Loose Leaf Co. v. Kalamazo......
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