Richter v. Westab, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
529 F.2d 896 (1976)
- Written by Sarah Hoffman, JD
Facts
Ralph Richter and his partner, Mracky (plaintiffs), had a marketing and design firm called Richter & Mracky Design Associates (the firm). One of their employees had an idea to revamp boring school supplies by designing them with fashionable designs made to match fashionable clothing lines. The employee approached Westab, Inc. (defendant), a manufacturer of school supplies, about the idea. Westab and the firm entered into a contract to design binder covers. The contract granted royalties to the firm for products sold using their designs. In the end, Westab rejected all the firm’s designs, and the project ended. Westab paid the firm for its expenses to that date. A few years later, Westab began selling binders with plaid and paisley covers. They were very successful. Richter and Mracky brought suit against Westab for breach of express contract and for breach of implied contract on the grounds that the marketing strategy used by Westab for these lines of notebooks was very similar to the strategy conceptualized by the firm. The trial court found in favor of Westab, and Richter and Mracky appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Weick, J.)
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