Hutchens

This is a suit for infringement of Letters Patent No. 2,618,919, granted to Ralph O. Hutchens on November 25, 1952, and No. 2,719,398, granted to Ralph O. Hutchens on October 4, 1955. These patents both exemplified lawn trimming and edging apparatus. The defendants, partners doing business under the name of King O’Lawn Manufacturing Co., 1 had made, sold and used devices of the same general nature in the same field which Hutchens claimed infringed both of his patents. Based upon a stipulation as to prior public use of certain apparatus of like character, it was agreed that the suit should be dismissed with prejudice as to Hutchens’ Patent No. 2,618,919, 2 and also that the effective filing date of Hutchens’ Patent No. 2,-719,398 3 is June 16, 1950. Thereafter, the second amended complaint was filed, which sets up infringement of the latter patent ’398 only. The answer denies infringement, pleads invalidity of ’398, sets out several claimed anticipatory patents, and alleges prior art devices which prevented novelty in the patented device. There is an allegation that '398 is invalid for double patenting and that substantially the same elements of the combination claimed in '919 are…