The Plastic Contact Lens Company, a Corporation v. George H. Butterfield, Sr.

Each of the parties owns a patent pertaining to the design and construction of corneal contact lenses. Appellant, the defendant below and hereinafter called Plastic, holds the rights to the so-called Tuohy patent, Number 2,510,438. It is senior to that called the Butterfield patent, Number 2,544,246, owned by George H. Butterfield, Sr. As plaintiff, Butter-field was successful in the court below, and Plastic appeals.

The present dispute follows a long history of controversy arising from conflicting claims pertaining to the two patents and their scope. A part of the history is interwoven with contentions in the present litigation and must be briefly reviewed.

Plastic acquired its rights to the Tuohy patent in November, 1960, when it purchased all of the capital stock of Solex Laboratories, the previous owner of the patent. Before that time, Solex had sued Plastic, alleging that the latter had infringed the Tuohy patent. In that action, Plastic challenged the validity of the patent which it now owns. See Solex Labs, Inc. v. Plastic Contact Lens Co., 268 F.2d 637 (7th Cir. 1959).

Before the transfer of its ownership to Plastic, Solex had sued Butterfield and George H. Butterfield…