Grape Squeezing

21. Mr. Roberts, an American citizen touring a vineyard, saw a unique grape-squeezing

machine in France. The machine was highly efficient, and produced excellent wine. The

vineyard owner was not hiding the machine. It was out of public view and was the only one of

its kind. The vineyard owner had built it himself several years earlier, and no drawing or

technical description of the machine was ever made. The vineyard made only local sales of its

wines. Using his photographic memory, Roberts went back to his hotel and made technical

drawings of what he had seen. Upon his return to the United States, Roberts promptly prepared

and filed a patent application directed to the machine. Which of the following statements is

correct?

(A) Roberts may not obtain a patent on the machine because it was known by others

before Mr. Roberts made technical drawings of the machine.

(B) Roberts may not obtain a patent on the machine because wine made by the

machine had been sold more than a year before Roberts’ application filing date.

(C) Roberts is entitled to a patent because a goal of the patent system is public

disclosure of technical advances, and the machine would not have been disclosed

to the public without Roberts’ efforts.

(D) Roberts may not obtain a patent on the machine because the vineyard owner was

not hiding the machine and therefore the machine was in public use more than a

year before Roberts’ application filing date.

(E) Statements (A), (B), (C) and (D) are each incorrect.

21. ANSWER: (E). Roberts is not entitled to a patent because he did not himself invent the

subject matter sought to be patented. 35 U.S.C. § 102(f). Therefore, statement (C) cannot be

correct. Statement (A) is incorrect because, although the machine was known by others, it was

not known by others in this country as required under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a). Similarly, statements

(B) and (D) are incorrect because, even if there was a sale or public use more than a year before

Roberts’ filing date, it was not “in this country” as required by 35 U.S.C. § 102(b).