Hotchkiss v. Greenwood Case Brief Summary | Law Case Explained

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Hotchkiss v. Greenwood | 52 U.S. (11 How.) 248 (1851)
What kind of improvement in a process or device is necessary for the improvement to be patentable? Courts have struggled with that question throughout the nation’s history. And in Hotchkiss versus Greenwood, the United States Supreme Court considered whether to open the door of patentability to doorknobs made of new materials.
John Hotchkiss and two other inventors patented a process for making doorknobs out of potter’s clay or porcelain. The patent further explained how the knobs were attached to the door by a shank. Miles Greenwood and Thomas Wood, operating as the Greenwood Company, allegedly infringed the Hotchkiss patent. So, Hotchkiss sued Greenwood.
At trial, Hotchkiss offered evidence showing that the invention was original, novel, and useful. Clay and porcelain doorknobs lasted longer than those made of wood, were cheaper than those made of iron, and were aesthetically pleasing.
The circuit judge instructed the jury that if the Hotchkiss doorknobs only substituted one material for another, and if they otherwise worked like prior doorknobs worked and attached to the doors as prior doorknobs did, then the patent was void. The jury found for Greenwood. The United States Supreme Court granted Hotchkiss a writ of error.
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