for Southern California, 508 U.S. 602, 622 (1993). As such, the junior party must prove
that it is more probable than not that he was the first to reduce the invention to practice
prior to the filing date of the '700 patent, or was the first to conceive the invention and
utilized diligence from a time just prior to the filing of the '700 patent to a later reduction
to practice.
B. The Counts
The subject matter of count 1 is a brush cutting blade for mounting to a drive shaft
which is manipulated by a handle. The blade is utilized primarily to cut shrubbery and
other plant material. The blade includes a circular disk body with teeth formed on the
peripheral edge of the disk body. The disk has a center mount for mounting the disk to
the drive shaft. There is at least one cutting segment formed out of the disk body and
positioned radially outward of the center mount and radially inward of the peripheral
edge. The cutting segment has a generally curved triangular shape with one side being
unsevered and forming a juncture with the plane of the disk body. The other sides
extend outwardly from the plane of the disk body at an angled orientation which is
between positions which are coplanar and normal to the plane of the disk body. The
formation of the cutting segments form an opening in the disk body which is disposed
radially outward of the cutting segments. These cutting segments have an inclined
leading edge with cutting teeth on the edge for cutting in the direction of the rotation.
The subject matter of count 2 includes all the subject matter of count 1 but in
addition includes at least three cutting segments and a juncture that is formed by the
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