Bristol Locknut Company, Plaintiff/appellee/cross-Appellant v. Sps Technologies, Inc., Defendant/appellant/cross-Appellee

BACKGROUND

The validity and infringement of two patents and a trademark held by SPS Technologies, Inc. are at issue. The Skidmore Patent No. 3,208,494 claims and describes what is known in the industry as a prevailing torque locknut. A locknut differs from a free spinning nut in that it requires greater effort to remove it from a bolt. Because locknuts will not vibrate loose, they are widely used in the automotive industry in critical places on vehicles. The Burt Patent No. 2,955,301 describes and claims a tool for converting certain free spinning nuts into locknuts by deforming the nut’s conical end.

SPS Technologies, Inc. (formerly Standard Pressed Steel Company) entered into a licensing agreement with Bristol Locknut Company (formerly Magnolia Screw Products, Inc.). Bristol Locknut was licensed to sell, under SPS’s trademark “Conelok,” the Skidmore locknut and locknuts made by the Burt tool.

Six years later, Bristol Locknut renounced the licensing agreement and brought a declaratory judgment action, seeking a determination that the patents were invalid and not infringed by Bristol Locknut’s manufacturing practices. SPS then brought an action for breach of contract and…