Hotchkiss v. Greenwood SKH

Summary

• Patent for a process of making knobs for doors and cabinets
• Claimed novelty for material
• Nothing new about door knobs or the shanks/axels to turn the latch
• Ultimately arguing about jury instructions
  • questions of law vs. questions of fact
• Burden of proof is on the plaintiff to show patent is not valid

Decision

• Decided there was nothing other than substitution of material
• Patent is not valid because nothing was invented

Dissent

• Emphasized making combinations that do something "better," "cheaper," or "new."
• Does not matter if it was obvious, as long as something was made better