Quick Point Pencil Company, a Missouri Corporation v. Jane Aronson (Formerly Known as Jane Leopoldi)

I respectfully dissent.

The majority appears to acknowledge that the contract here was not conditioned on the issuance of a patent.1 Yet it attributes considerable importance to the fact that a patent application was “involved” and appears to hold that a private agreement which “involves” an abandoned patent application may not be enforced as a matter of federal policy.2 Because that holding appears to be based on a characterization of the issues with which I disagree, I deem it necessary to discuss in some detail my understanding of the legal principles governing this case.

First, the nature…