Patents – Standard of Invention – Effects of Sections 103 and 282 of Patent Act of 1952

Defendant counterclaimed for patent infringement in a declaratory judgment action. The trial court, holding the patent invalid for lack of “invention,” dismissed the counterclaim. On appeal, held, reversed. The patent in question was valid, this conclusion being based on an independent study of the pertinent prior art and on the additional factors of industry acquiescence, commercial success, and the statutory presumption of validity of a duly issued patent. Georgia-Pacific Corp. v. United States Plywood Corp., (2d Cir. 1958) 258 F. (2d) 124, cert. den. 27 U.S. LAW WEEK 3147 (1958).