United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Lektophone Corporation v. The Rola Company, 282 U.S. 168 (1930)

Lektophone Corporation v. The Rola Company

No.19 & 68

Argued November 26, 1930

Decided December 8, 1930

282 U.S. 168

Syllabus

Hopkins Patent No. 1,271,629, granted July 2, 1918, for an acoustic device for the propagation, from a record or equivalent element, of self-sustaining sound waves in free air, as distinguished from the then prevailing use of the sound box and horn, comprised a bodily movable conical tympanum of crisp, strong, and more or less rigid material such as paper, continued in one piece to form an annular rim which was rigidly supported between two ring. The patentee attached importance to the size of the tympanum a well a it structure. Held narrowly confined by the prior art if valid, and not infringed by a device (radio loudspeaker) in which the rim of the tympanum is made of limp leather or cloth. P. 282 U. S. 171.

34 F.2d 764 affirmed.

37 F.2d 580 (Dist. Ct.) reversed.

WRITS OF CERTIORARI, 280 U.S. 551 and 281 U.S. 713, to review conflicting decisions in the Ninth and Third Circuits in two suits brought by the Lektophone Corporation alleging the infringement of a patent. The cases are stated fully in the opinion.

Page 282 U. S. 169