Kimberly Corp. v. Hartley Pen Co.

This suit was originally instituted in 1953 by appellee-plaintiff, Hartley Pen Company, (hereafter called Hartley). In this action defendant-appellee, Lindy Pen Company, (hereafter called Lindy) was charged with infringement of Letters Patent No. 2,498,009 owned by Hartley.

Later, and on or about January 15, 1954, appellant Kimberly Corporation, (hereafter called Kimberly) filed a motion to intervene as a plaintiff in the pending Hartley action upon the ground that it was the full equitable owner of the patent in suit, and as such, had an interest in the Hartley patent infringement suit. Leave to intervene was granted. So far as pertinent to this appeal, the Kimberly complaint in intervention prayed for a judgment ordering that Hartley execute an effective assignment of said patent to Kimberly, for an injunction, an accounting and other appropriate relief. In this first complaint Kimberly charged generally that Hartley, Lindy, one Linden, and two individuals, Sears and Schrader had infringed the said Letters Patent; that title thereto was being held by Hartley, Sears and Schrader as beneficiaries of their fraudulent acts hence these parties were holding such title as…