Don Lee, Inc. v. Walker’s Empirical Analysis
61 F.2d 58 · 1932
Citation profile
1 federal appellate ·
How this case has been cited
Cited by 15 later decisions (1 by the Supreme Court) — most recently March 1981
1 federal appellate ·
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 15 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“We conclude that appellee’s patent claim No. 1 for a method of computation for determining the position and weights necessary to counterbalance distortion in a Sharp shaft with an eight-cylinder engine V-type motor is not patentable. We agree with appellant’s contention that such a computation is not “a new and useful art, machine, manufacture or composition of matter” within the meaning of section 4886, Rev.Stat. ( 35 U.S.C.A. § 31 ) [antecedents of 35 U.S.C. § 101 ]. Neither is it novel, being merely a special case already covered by a general case, or formula, and also by the method of graphic statics which gives a solution without formula or computation, forces being represented by the length of lines and their direction being parallel to the action of the force, the solution being indicated by the length and direction of the line indicating the resultant force. [Our emphasis.]”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“Patent is invalid if for mathematical formula for solution of problem in dynamics; special application of general formula known to engineering world cannot be patented; nor can formula for determining dynamic forces in motor shaft when the forces were fully recognized and considered by engineers in prior publications.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.