Kimberly-Clark Corp. v. Procter & Gamble Distributing Co.
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
973 F.2d 911, 23 U.S.P.Q.2d 1921 (1992)
- Written by Eric Miller, JD
Facts
A patent on disposable baby diapers based on work performed in February 1982—the Enloe patent—was granted to Kimberly-Clark Corporation (plaintiff). A similar patent—the Lawson patent—was granted to Procter & Gamble Distributing Company, Inc. (Procter & Gamble) (defendant). Kimberly-Clark brought a patent-infringement action against Procter & Gamble in federal district court. The court found no infringement, but it held that the Enloe patent had priority over the Lawson patent. Both parties appealed, and the case came before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Procter & Gamble argued that the Lawson patent reflected the joint work of three inventors—Lawson, Blevins, and Buell—but that Blevins and Buell had been erroneously omitted. Procter & Gamble further contended that Buell’s work began in 1979 and that an opportunity to correct inventorship on the patent would result in priority over the Enloe patent. However, it was also established Lawson’s work had been done without knowledge of this earlier work.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Lourie, J.)
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