Woodcock v. Parker
Circuit Court, District of Massachusetts
30 Fed.Cas. 491 (1813)
Relevant factsFree
Woodcock (plaintiff) sued Parker (defendant) for patent infringement; Parker defended by claiming he had actually invented the machine first, even though he had kept his invention secret rather than seeking his own patent.
IssueFree
Whether, where the first inventor concealed his invention, a later inventor can obtain a patent for the invention and use it against the first inventor.