Joseph Bancroft & Sons Co. v. Brewster Finishing Co.
United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
113 F. Supp. 714, 98 U.S.P.Q. 187 (1953)
- Written by Eric Miller, JD
Facts
Two United States patent applications—the Bener application and the Lantz and Morrison application—taught a process for applying a durable but relatively fast mechanical finish to goods. The Bener application was filed on October 4, 1934, and later resulted in a patent. The Lantz and Morrison application was filed on October 2, 1934—two days earlier—but later abandoned. However, Lantz and Morrison had also filed a British application for the same invention in June 1933, for which a British patent was issued in 1935. Rights to the Bener application were assigned to Joseph Bancroft & Sons Co. (Bancroft) (plaintiff). Bancroft brought a patent-infringement action against Brewster Finishing Co. (defendant) in federal district court. The validity of the Bener patent was challenged on the ground that the Lantz and Morrison application was prior art. Although the Bener application was itself entitled to an earlier Swiss filing date, it was nevertheless predated by the June 1933 British patent application.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Modarelli, 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.
