Hugo Black

“ It found that the patentees were the first persons to use urea as a corrosion inhibiting agent in an antiperspirant. But the District Court also found that prior to the patentees' alleged discovery the use of urea as an anticorrosive agent was already a matter of public knowledge, and that it had previously been used as a corrosion inhibitor in compounds other than antiperspirants. As a consequence of these findings, the District Court held the patent invalid. ”

“ The patent specifications asserted and the District Court found that though standard alkalies would neutralize and thus reduce acidity and consequent skin irritation and cloth corrosion, these alkalies would by neutralizing acidity also reduce the astringency essential to check perspiration. The claimed discovery of the patent is in adding to the old acid-salts cosmetics certain types of the reactive amino chemical group, particularly urea. This addition, the patentees asserted, results in an improved compound which checks perspiration but neither irritates the skin nor corrodes the clothing. ”

“ He urges that the Shipp preparation merely retards corrosion on cloth whereas respondent's stops corrosion completely. He also points out that Shipp dealt with sulfuric acid and not an acid salt as is involved in this patent. He argues that the teachings of the Shipp and other patents would not have led a chemist skilled in his art to undertake the experiment which eventuated in the success of these patentees. He takes this position because in the use of alkalies and even of urea with plain acids, the acids did not retain their full effectiveness as antiperspirants. ”