Pro-mold and Tool Company, Inc., Plaintiff-appellant, v. Great Lakes Plastics, Inc., Defendant/cross-appellant

United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit. - 75 F.3d 1568

Feb. 7, 1996

Appealed from: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio; Judge Katz.

Thomas F. Zych, Thompson, Hine & Flory, Cleveland, Ohio, argued for plaintiff-appellant. With him on the brief were Mark Levy and Brian J. O'Connell, Thompson, Hine & Flory, Dayton, Ohio, of counsel.

Marshall Bennett, Jr., Marshall & Mulhorn, Toledo, Ohio, argued for defendant/cross-appellant. With him on the brief was D. Edward Dolgorukov.

Before PLAGER, LOURIE, and RADER, Circuit Judges.

LOURIE, Circuit Judge.

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Pro-Mold and Tool Company, Inc. appeals from the summary judgment of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio holding U.S. Patent 5,224,600 invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 103 and dismissing its patent infringement claim. Great Lakes Plastics, Inc. cross-appeals from the district court's judgment dismissing its counterclaim for unfair competition. Pro-Mold and Tool Co. v. Great Lakes Plastics, Inc., No. 3:93 CV 7412 (N.D.Ohio Sept. 12, 1994). Because the district court erred in holding that there were no genuine issues of material fact regarding nonobviousness of the subject matter of the patent, we vacate the district court's judgment holding the patent invalid and remand. Because the district court did not err in determining that there was a lack of evidence to support Great Lakes' counterclaim for unfair competition, we affirm the district court's judgment dismissing that counterclaim.

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BACKGROUND

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The patent in suit describes a card holder for storing baseball and other sports trading cards. The card holder consists of a base and cover. Figures 1 and 2 illustrate top and side sectional views, respectively, of the base, and Figure 3 illustrates a side view of the cover:

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