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Wilbur-Ellis Co. v. Kuther, 377 U.S. 422 (1964)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Wilbur-Ellis Co. v. Kuther, 377 U.S. 422 (1964)
Wilbur-Ellis Co. v. Kuther No. 109 Argued February 20, 1964 Decided June 8, 1964 377 U.S. 422
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
Syllabus
Respondent, who owned a combination patent covering a canning machine, authorized the sale of machines made thereunder designed to pack fish into "1-pound" cans. Petitioner company bought four of these machines second-hand, three of them rusted, corroded and inoperable, and all four requiring cleaning and sandblasting to become usable. The machines were reconditioned, and six of the 35 elements of the patent combination were resized to enable the machines to pack "5-ounce" cans. The District Court and the Court of Appeals held for respondent in his suit for patent infringement.
Held: Adapting the machine for use on a different-sized commodity is within the patent rights purchased, and is not an infringement. Pp. 424-425.
(a) In adapting the machines to a related use and lengthening the useful capacity of the old combination on which royalties were paid, petitioners were closer to permissible "repairing" than infringing "reconstructing." P. 425.
(b) The fact that the adaptation made the machines more useful did not make it "reconstruction." P. 425.
(c) Petitioner’s license to use the machines is not for "1-pound" cans only, as they were sold outright, and with no restrictions. P. 425.
314 F.2d 71 reversed.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Wilbur-Ellis Co. v. Kuther, 377 U.S. 422 (1964) in 377 U.S. 422 Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=LERY38ZQD2B2LM9.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Wilbur-Ellis Co. v. Kuther, 377 U.S. 422 (1964), in 377 U.S. 422, Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=LERY38ZQD2B2LM9.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Wilbur-Ellis Co. v. Kuther, 377 U.S. 422 (1964). cited in 1964, 377 U.S. 422. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=LERY38ZQD2B2LM9.
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