Carlos A. Mollura v. Curtis G. Miller, Craig S. Miller and American National Watermattress Corp., a California Corporation

Appellant Mollura brought suit for infringement of his patented plastic bag that he has marketed as a waterbed. At the conclusion of Mollura’s case, the district court considered the evidence, including expert testimony, and dismissed the action, concluding that the patent was invalid for obviousness. We agree with this conclusion and affirm the district court.

Appellant’s product is formed from three pieces of sheet material, one large and two small rectangular pieces. The large piece is rolled into a tube and at the point where the two ends of the large sheet come together, they are overlapped and heat welded to form a lap seam. The tube is then capped by the two end pieces and the corners are shaped to make the tube more rectangular. The ends of the tube are bent inwardly and are heat welded to the end pieces.

Appellees’ product is formed from two large rectangular sheets of plastic of identical size and one long narrow strip of plastic. The strip is formed into a rectangle slightly smaller than the two large sheets and the ends are lap welded together. This forms a side panel that extends around the periphery of the mattress. The two large sheets are then attached to this…