Mead Digital Systems, Inc. Mead Corporation, Cross-Appellant v. A.B. Dick Company and Gould, Inc., Cross-Appellees

MERRITT, Circuit Judge.

This patent infringement case concerns a new form of printing whereby printer’s ink is guided onto paper or other recording media by electrical charges applied to ink streaming from small nozzles, rather than by conventional type, press, pen or other contact. The process, called “ink jet printing,” is now used by businesses which require high speed printing or printing on soft or other unusual surfaces. Ink jet printers are particularly well-suited for computer print-outs and labeling. The parties to this action advise us that ink jet printing may be the “wave of the…