Louis C. Stukenborg v. Teledyne, Inc., a Corporation

This is an appeal from a final partial summary judgment (Rule 54(b) F.R.Civ.P.) in a patent infringement case. We affirm. Appellants are the owners and the exclusive licensee of Patent Number 2,843,408 (the '408 patent). They brought this action against appellee Teledyne, Inc., for inducement of infringement and contributory infringement of claims 5, 6, and 7 of the patent, 35 U.S.C. §§ 271 (b), (c), 281. Teledyne filed a motion for partial summary judgment under F.R.Civ.P. 56(b), which was granted.

Claims 5-7 of the ’408 patent have previously been litigated in the Court of Claims, though the parties before that court were not identical with the parties before us. Stukenborg v. United States, 1967, 178 Ct.Cl. 738 , 372 F.2d 498 . That court found claims 5-7 to be valid combination claims. As will be seen, we disagree.

1. The facts.

This case revolves around a turnbuckle, details of the design for which are the subject of the disputed claims. The turnbuckle assembly is intended for use in aircraft, to maintain tension in cables connected to the controls. It has four basic components: (1) a barrel or sleeve, forming the central section of the assembly and having internally…