Danforth

This is a suit for infringement of a patent for an anchor. The trial court held the patent valid but not infringed, and both the plaintiffs and the defendant have appealed.

Plaintiffs’ patented device is referred to in the record as the Northill anchor and the defendant’s device as the Danforth anchor. The patent in suit, No. 2,075,827, was issued to plaintiffs Northrop and Gesner on April 6, 1937, and the patentees obtained a reissue of the same patent (Re. No. 21,841) under date of June 24, 1941. The suit was voluntarily dismissed as to the original patent, and sole reliance was thenceforth placed on the reissue. The defendant contends that the reissue patent is invalid for want of invention and because broader than the original, and also because of laches; but we do not reach these questions since we are of opinion that the finding of non-infringement should be upheld.

Plaintiffs’ patent is for an anchor for use on various water craft, chiefly pleasure boats, seaplanes and the like. The anchor apparently has a high ratio of holding power to weight, which is the prime advantage claimed for it by the inventors. It has a shank, a cable attachment at one end of the shank, a fluke…