Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Inc. v. McDonnell Douglas Corporation, Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Inc. v. McDonnell Douglas Corporation

HEANEY, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff acoustics consulting firm is assignee of a patent on a silencing device issued to Bill G. Watters in 1963 [the “Watters Patent”], which patent has never been commercially exploited. It brought this action against McDonnell Douglas Corporation, alleging that a silencing device being used in the latter’s DC-10 jet engines infringes the Watters Patent. The District Court held that the Watters Patent was invalid for lack of invention, because it was “obvious” within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. § 103, 1 and that there was no infringement in any event, because the…