Reference no: EM133268685

Grigori Denton, an electronics engineer, worked on the development of a miniature hearing aid in his spare time. After much experimentation, he was successful in developing what he wanted. Denton was a member of a local service club that frequently assisted persons with hearing problems. For a special meeting of the club, he was invited to give the members a short lecture on hearing aids and a demonstration of how his device operated. At the meeting, he described how the device was constructed and demonstrated its effectiveness even though it was still in the experimental stage. The meeting was later reported in the local newspaper, along with some general information on Denton's presentation at the meeting. Another member of the club, who was also an electronics engineer, wrote a brief note on Denton's presentation and submitted it to a scientific journal that subsequently printed the note in its "New Developments" section.

Several years later, Denton finally perfected his hearing device and applied for a patent. He then set up facilities for its production, marking each unit produced with the words "patent pending." The product sold well in all parts of the country except British Columbia. When Denton investigated the market in that area, he discovered that a west-coast manufacturer was producing hearing aid units that incorporated the particular design that he had developed. His competitor had been selling the similar models for almost a year before Denton had gone into production. Unknown to Denton, the manufacturer had apparently developed his own hearing aid model from information that he had read in the scientific journal report of Denton's presentation to his service club.

Denton had the Patent Office expedite his patent application. On its issue, he instituted legal proceedings against the west-coast manufacturer for infringement.

Discuss the arguments that might be raised by the parties in this case if it goes to court.