Applegate v. Scherer
United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals
332 F.2d 571 (1964)
- Written by Jack Newell, JD
Facts
Sea lampreys were causing serious problems in the Great Lakes. The Fish and Wildlife Service, led by Vernon Applegate (plaintiff), solicited methods for reducing the lamprey population. Otto Scherer (defendant) proposed a chemical compound that would be effective for killing the larvae of sea lamprey, and he sent the Fish and Wildlife Service a sample. Both Applegate and Scherer submitted patent applications for the chemical to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). The PTO declared an interference as a result of two parties submitting the same patent. The Board of Patent Interferences gave the patent to Scherer, finding he was the actual inventor of the chemical. Applegate appealed to the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Rich, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,400 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.