California Fruit Growers' Exchange v. Blake, Moffitt & Towne

In three cases consolidated for trial decrees were entered finding appellants were infringing claim 3 of letters patent No. 1,099,281, issued to C. L. Crumrine and another on June 9, 1914, the patent being now owned by the plaintiff appellee. Injunction was issued, and defendants appeal.

Preliminarily, the appellee’s motion to dismiss the appeals or to affirm the decrees, upon the ground that the appellants have not complied with equity rule 75, will be denied. The record is unusually brief for a patent case, and sufficiently conforms to the proper practice. The patent relates to a fruit package.

The specifications set forth that in boxing oranges, for example, the oranges in the upper layer project above the edges of the box, so that, when the cover is laid upon the oranges and is pressed down, the oranges at the top often have their skins squeezed between the cover and the upper edge of the box, thus causing bruising of the skin, which causes decay. Crumrine’s object was to provide means, which become part of the package itself, and which serve to prevent the fruit from being damaged. To attain that end the patentee provided what he calls an end guard; that is, a piece of…