Pfaff v. Wells Electronics, Inc.
1998 United States Supreme Court case / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Pfaff v. Wells Electronics, Inc., 525 U.S. 55 (1998), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that determined what constituted being "on sale" for the purposes of barring the grant of a patent for an invention.[1]
Quick Facts Pfaff v. Wells Electronics, Inc., Argued October 6, 1998 Decided November 10, 1998 ...
Pfaff v. Wells Electronics, Inc. | |
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Argued October 6, 1998 Decided November 10, 1998 | |
Full case name | Wayne K. Pfaff v. Wells Electronics, Incorporated |
Citations | 525 U.S. 55 (more) 119 S. Ct. 304; 142 L. Ed. 2d 261; 1998 U.S. LEXIS 7268; 67 U.S.L.W. 4009; 48 U.S.P.Q.2d (BNA) 1641; 98 Cal. Daily Op. Service 8319; 98 Daily Journal DAR 11535; 1998 Colo. J. C.A.R. 5775 |
Case history | |
Prior | Summary judgment granted to defendant, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22592 (N.D. Tex. 1992); reversed and remanded, 5 F.3d 514 (Fed. Cir. 1993); partial judgment granted to plaintiff, 995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21747 (N.D. Tex. 1995); affirmed in part, reversed in part, 124 F.3d 1429 (Fed. Cir. 1997); rehearing denied, 1997 U.S. App. LEXIS 28585 (Fed. Cir. 1997); certiorari granted in part, 523 U.S. 1003 (1998) |
Subsequent | Rehearing denied, 525 U.S. 1003 (1094) |
Holding | |
An invention is "on sale" within the meaning of the statutory bar of 35 U.S.C. § 102(b), if it is 1) the subject of a commercial transaction, and 2) capable of being patented because at that time, either because it had in fact been reduced to practice, or because it was sufficiently well described for another person skilled in the art to build the invention from the designs. Federal Circuit affirmed. | |
Court membership | |
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Case opinion | |
Majority | Stevens, joined by unanimous |
Laws applied | |
35 U.S.C. § 102(b) |
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