Hydranautics

ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF HY-DRANAUTICS’ MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Plaintiff Hydranauties (“Plaintiff’) moves for partial summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Defendant FilmTec Corporation (“Defendant”) opposes. The Court finds the matter suitable for disposition on the papers submitted and without oral argument. See Civil Local Rule 7.1(d.l). For the reasons expressed below, the Court GRANTS Plaintiffs motion for partial summary judgment.

I. BACKGROUND

On November 17, 1977 Midwest Research Institute (“MRI”) scientist John Cadotte invented a reverse osmosis desalinization membrane by reacting trimesoyl chloride (“TMC”) and metaphenylene dia-mene (“MPD”). FilmTec v. Hydranautics, 982 F.2d 1546, 1549 (Fed.Cir.1992). At the time of the experiment, MRI had been conducting government reverse osmosis research according to a Saline Water Conversion Act contract. Id. at 1548 .

One month after recording his initial discovery at MRI, Cadotte resigned and founded Defendant FilmTec Corporation. On February 23, 1978 Cadotte chronicled an identical TMC-MPD chemical reaction. Id. at 1553 . Subsequently, Cadotte filed a reverse osmosis…