Carl Schenk, A. G. v. Nortron Corp.
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
713 F.2d 782, 218 U.S.P.Q. 698 (1983)
- Written by Eric Miller, JD
Facts
The company Carl Schenk, A. G. (Schenk) (plaintiff) held a patent (the ‘511 patent) on a wheel balancer: a machine that sensed vibrations caused by imbalances in wheels or other rotating elements. The invention sought to address the need for damping, which was a commonly used means of suppressing resonance. Nortron Corporation (defendant) sold a competing product. Schenk brought an infringement action in federal district court. Nortron argued that the invention claimed in the ‘511 patent merely modified an existing structure by making it one piece instead of several pieces bolted together. However, testimony established that, prior to the invention, damping was considered necessary by those skilled in the art. The court held that the ‘511 patent was valid and infringed. Nortron appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Markey, C.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. 46,500 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.