Falcon Lock Co., a California Corporation, Appellant-Appellee v. Best Universal Lock Co., Appellees-Appellants

The parties are competitors in the manufacture of door locks. Falcon brought this suit to secure a declaratory judgment to the effect that neither it (through the sale of its locks and lock parts) nor its customers (through use of such locks or lock parts) infringes or would infringe Best patent No. 2,440,434. It further alleged unfair competition by Best in charging infringement.

Door locks of the type in question consist of two components: a lock housing and a core which fits into the housing. When the correct key is inserted into the core the lock will open. In the event the key is lost and falls into the hands of unauthorized persons, the core can be replaced by another core operable only with a different key. Locks of this type can be purchased as a whole or the components can be separately purchased. Patents upon locks of this removable-core type have long since expired and both housing and core, as such, are in the public domain. The present dispute arose over Best’s efforts to prevent purchasers from using Falcon components in conjunction with Best components. It has written to Falcon and to Falcon customers charging infringement and unfair competition. It has refused to…