GRIDIRON STEEL COMPANY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. JONES & LAUGHLIN STEEL CORPORATION, Defendant-Appellee. GRIDIRON STEEL COMPANY, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. JONES & LAUGHLIN STEEL CORPORATION, Defendant-Appellant, 361 F.2d 791

Summary

Plaintiff, holder of ironing board patents, sued defendant to recover unpaid licensing royalties, as well as damages for breach of agreement allowing plaintiff the option to purchase tools and dies in making the ironing boards. The court first held defendant could not avoid breach by its sale of tools and dies prior to the agreement's termination. However, the court held that, while the district court erred in fixing an unreasonably low estimate of the value of the tools and dies in light of the evidence, the district court correctly rejected estimates of the value of ironing board leg patents defendant also assigned in breach of the agreement. The court then held defendant was estopped from asserting ironing boards did not contain elements of plaintiff's patents, as defendant had stamped the ironing boards, and subsequent identical boards, with plaintiff's patent numbers. Thus, the court held defendant was liable for royalties and interest under the licensing agreement.