Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
U

Union Carbide Corp. v. American Can Co.

724 F.2d 1567, 220 U.S.P.Q. 584 (1984)

From our private database of 46,400+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Union Carbide Corp. v. American Can Co.

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
724 F.2d 1567, 220 U.S.P.Q. 584 (1984)

Facts

Union Carbide Corporation (plaintiff) held a patent on a method of packaging plastic bags for use in the meat-packing industry. The patent was directed to the use of an elongated flexible binding to hold the bags together. Union Carbide brought an infringement action against American Can Company (defendant) in federal district court. The court invalidated Union Carbide’s patent on the ground of obviousness. Union Carbide argued that the prior-art references relied on by the court were directed to the retaining of paper sheets, whereas the Union Carbide patent was directed to the dispensing of bags. However, the court found that the Union Carbide patent dealt with problems of binding and carrying the bags, not just dispensing them, and that the prior art solved the problem in the same way. The case was appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Nies, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

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.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,400 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Patent

Key Terms