Young v. Dworkin
United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals
489 F.2d 1277, 180 U.S.P.Q. 388 (1974)
- Written by Eric Miller, JD
Facts
Frank Young conceived an invention—an expandable envelope—and reduced it practice by November 1965. However, Young did not apply for a patent on the invention until February 7, 1968. In the interim, Young made a trip to a paper-converting-machinery convention in Germany, apparently for the purpose of seeking an appropriate machine for the invention. Without knowledge of Young’s activities, Howard Dworkin conceived a similar envelope and reduced it to practice between January 31, 1967, and October 6, 1967. Dworkin filed a patent application for the envelope on December 28, 1967, more than a month ahead of Young’s application. An interference proceeding followed. Young stated that the over-two-year delay between reduction to practice and filing was spent determining if his company had a machine that could manufacture the invention, then locating a machine that would enable his company to produce it, and finally performing a successful test run. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) interference board granted priority to Dworkin, finding that Young’s delay constituted suppression of the invention. Young appealed to the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Miller, J.)
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