EB: US v. ADAMS, 383 U.S. 39 (1966)

Situation

Court of Claims held valid Adams's patent for a wet battery
Adams issued a patent in 1943 for a "nonrechargeable...electric battery"
- Battery comprised of two electrodes: one of magnesium, the other of cuprous chloride
- The electrolyte (battery fluid) used is water (salt or fresh, does not need to be distilled)
Less than a month after filing for the patent (1941) Adams brought his discovery to the Army and Navy
- Signal Corps scientists did not believe the battery was workable
- By 1943, the Signal Corps changed their minds, concluding it was viable - they then entered into contracts with battery companies to produce the battery
- Government did not notify Adams of its changed views nor of the use to which it was putting his device

Prior Art
- Marie Davy cell (1860): ammonium chloride electrolyte - seems to have been capable of working with water, though
- Wood patent (1928): no use of cuprous chloride, no indication that it can be water powered
- Wensky patent (1891): cuprous chloride used, no magnesium or water-power potential
- Skrivanoff patent (1880): uses magnesium, but has other electrolyte - Adams tried this one, but it caused a fire
Court rules that "the fact that the Adams battery is water-activated sets his device apart from the prior art"
Also, court says Adams invention is more than just a subsitution of magnesium and cuprous chloride for normal battery components because if it were just a substitution than it would have "equivalent operating characteristics"- but, Adams battery performs superior to normal batteries
Court rules that Adams battery was nonobvious
- Combining as Adams did was unexpected in the art - it ignored two things generally accepted in prior art (1)open circuit batteries are not practical - ones that continue to run (2) water-activated batteries were previously only successful with electrolytes detrimental to the use of magnesium
  - The fact that Adams saw beyond these prior art standards makes the invention nonobvious