W. E. Plechaty Co. v. Heckett Engineering, Inc.

WEICK, District Judge.

In its complaint, plaintiff seeks a declaratory judgment determining the invalidity and non-infringement of United States Letters Patent Nos. 2,264,204 and 2,352,712 owned by defendant and relating, respectively, to the “Method and Apparatus for Reclaiming Metal” and “Recovery and Use of Scrap Steel”, and an injunction restraining defendant from claiming that plaintiff’s portable magnetic separator infringes said patents.

Defendant, in its answer, pleaded the defense of unclean hands, alleging that plaintiff wrongfully obtained trade secrets belonging to it, and in…