Stockton Wire Products, Inc. v. K-Lath Corporation

Plaintiffs appeal from a summary judgment dismissing their patent infringement suit on the grounds that claims one and four of their Patent No. 3,175,330 were obvious as a matter of law and hence invalid.

This court has often cautioned that relatively rare is the suit in which summary judgment is warranted; and the observation is especially relevant to litigation involving patentability of a mechanical device. Northrop Architectural Systems, a corp., v. Lupton Mfg. Co., a corp., 437 F.2d 889 (9th Cir. 1971).

However, this appeal reveals one of those infrequent instances where the conclusion is manifest — as it was in Walker v. General Motors Corp., 362 F.2d 56 (9th Cir. 1966) and Ashcroft and Engle v. Paper Mate Mfg. Co., 434 F.2d 910 (9th Cir. 1970) — that “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and * * * the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Rule 56(c) F.R.Civ.P.

The patent in suit (herein the '330 Patent) relates to a device commonly known in the building trade as a “bead.” “Beads” are lattice-like strips constructed of wood or wire and useful for supporting plaster on a wall or other surface.

The ’330 Patent discloses two forms —a…