Young Dental Manufacturing Co., Inc. v. Q3 Special Products, Inc.

112 F.3d 1137 (1997)

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Young Dental Manufacturing Co., Inc. v. Q3 Special Products, Inc.

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
112 F.3d 1137 (1997)

Facts

Young Dental Manufacturing Company, Inc. (Young) (plaintiff) held a patent for an improved disposable prophy angle (DPA), a small dental instrument used for polishing teeth. The patent contained illustrated diagrams of the shape and structure of the DPA gears, and specified that the parts should be made of Lexan and Celcon plastics. After Young’s patent was issued, David Kraenzle (defendant) designed a similar device and secured his own patent. Kraenzle and his partner, Chris Carron (defendant), formed a company called Q3 (defendant) and began selling Kraenzle’s device. Young sued Kraenzle, Q3, and Carron for patent infringement. Q3 counterclaimed for a declaration of noninfringement and invalidity of Young’s patent, contending that the patent violated the best mode requirement of 35 U.S.C. § 112 because it failed to disclose the gear ratio and grades of plastic that the inventor believed should be used in the DPA design for best results. The jury found for Q3, and Young appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Clevenger, J.)

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