Cascade Corporation v. Hiab-Foco Ab, a Swedish Corporation

The plaintiff commenced this declaratory judgment action in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon seeking a declaration of non-infringement of a patent owned by the defendant. The plaintiff is a manufacturer of hydraulic equipment and material handling equipment with its principal place of business in Oregon and offices in other areas. Defendant is a Swedish corporation which manufactures cranes and other equipment in Sweden. Defendant maintains no offices or personnel in the State of Oregon or in the United States. The defendant markets its equipment in the United States through a wholly-owned subsidiary, Hiab-Foco, Inc., a Delaware corporation. All of defendant’s equipment is sold F.O.B. Hudiksvall, Sweden to its American subsidiary and the subsidiary in turn markets the cranes to various independent distributors around the United States, including the State of Oregon.

In 1972, defendant by letter to the plaintiff, contended that the plaintiff was infringing the defendant’s patent. There was subsequent correspondence between the parties-relating to the infringement issue; however, nothing was resolved. Eventually the plaintiff brought this declaratory…