PARINS et al. V. SLATER - Page 33




          Interference No. 104,190                                                    



          instant case it is the same subject matter that is claimed to               
          have been conceived by both Parins and Rydell at separate                   
          times with no recollection on the part of Parins of another’s               
          work.                                                                       
                    For persons to be joint inventors under                           
                    Section 116, there must be some element of                        
                    joint behavior, such as collaboration or                          
                    working under common direction, one                               
                    inventor seeing a relevant report and                             
                    building upon                                                     
                    it or hearing another's suggestion at a                           
                    meeting . . . .  Individuals cannot be                            
                    joint inventors if they are completely                            
                    ignorant of what each other has done until                        
                    years after their individual independent                          
                    efforts.  They cannot be totally                                  
                    independent of each other and be joint                            
                    inventors.                                                        
                    We therefore hold that joint                                      
                    inventorship under Section 116 requires at                        
                    least some quantum of collaboration or                            
                    connection.                                                       
          Kimberly-Clark Corp. v. Procter & Gamble Distrib. Co., 973                  
          F.2d                                                                        
          911, 917, 23 USPQ2d 1921, 1926 (Fed. Cir. 1992).                            
                    Parins' testimony includes a definitive statement by              
          him that he conceived of the subject matter in November 1994.               
          PR19. Rydell had left Everest in late 1993 and did not consult              
          on bipolar scissors thereafter.  PR130.  The Junior party                   

                                          33                                          





Page:  Previous  23  24  25  26  27  28  29  30  31  32  33  34  35  36  37  Next 

Last modified: November 3, 2007