Laitram Corp. v. Depoe Bay Fish Co.

REDDEN, District Judge:

This is a suit for patent infringement brought by the Laitram Corporation, holder of U.S. Patent No. 3,276,878 (hereafter the ’878 patent). That patent covers a process for peeling shrimp mechanically after they are cooked. The defendants in this action are two seafood processors who, the plaintiff asserts, use the process in their operations and do not pay royalties. The defendants claim that the ’878 patent is invalid and assert all defenses: obviousness, new matter, usefulness, wrong inventor, fraud on the patent office, patent misuse and non-infringement. The case…