Metallizing Engineering Co., Inc. v. Kenyon Bearing & Auto Parts Co., Inc. (JWB Class)

The Case

• Process to treat a metal surface – spray on surface bonds better due to conditioning
• Issue for public use: things produced by this process were in public use, but never the process itself
• Held: public sale/use of output of process more than one year prior to the application is a statutory bar (patent void)

Precedent

• Machine, not the process it performs, is the invention