Evans Cooling Systems Inc. v. General Motors Corp.
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
125 F.3d 1448 (1997)
Relevant factsFree
Evans demonstrated a cooling system to General Motors, suspecting GM meant to steal it. GM later offered the invention in 1992 Corvette models-sold through independent dealers-before Evans filed his patent application in 1992, more than a year after the demonstration.
IssueFree
Whether sales of a pirated invention by innocent third parties, more than one year before the patent filing date, trigger the on-sale bar.
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