Potts v. Coe

Potts (plaintiff) sued the Commissioner of Patents (defendant) to obtain a patent for an invention developed by his company; the appellate court dismissed his appeal for failing to meet a heightened burden applicable when a corporation, rather than an individual, is the true inventor, relying on congressional findings that patent law aims to encourage individual innovation and that corporate research suppresses it. Potts challenged the court's use of those legislative findings and moved to vacate the dismissal.