Robert Kearns

For other people named Robert Kearns, see Robert Kearns (disambiguation).
Robert Kearns
Born Robert William Kearns
(1927-03-10)March 10, 1927
Gary, Indiana
Died February 9, 2005(2005-02-09) (aged 77)
Baltimore, Maryland
Nationality American
Alma mater Case Western Reserve University
Occupation Engineer
Known for inventing the intermittent windshield wiper

Robert William Kearns (March 10, 1927 – February 9, 2005) was an American inventor who invented the intermittent windshield wiper systems used on most automobiles from 1969 to the present. His first patent for the invention was filed on December 1, 1964.

Kearns won one of the best known patent infringement cases against Ford Motor Company (1978–1990) and a case against Chrysler Corporation (1982–1992). Having invented and patented the intermittent windshield wiper mechanism, which was useful in light rain or mist, he tried to interest the "Big Three" auto makers in licensing the technology. They all rejected his proposal, yet began to install intermittent wipers in their cars, beginning in 1969.

Early career

Kearns was a member of the Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of the U.S. CIA, during World War II.[1][2][3]

He earned engineering degrees from the University of Detroit Mercy and Wayne State University and a doctorate from Case Western Reserve University.[4]

Intermittent wipers

Kearns claimed that the inspiration for his invention stems from an incident on his wedding night in 1953, when an errant champagne cork shot into his left eye, leaving him legally blind in that eye. Nearly a decade later in 1963, Kearns was driving his Ford Galaxie through a light rain, and the constant movement of the wiper blades irritated his already troubled vision. He modeled his mechanism on the human eye, which blinks every few seconds, rather than continuously.[5] Kearns later downplayed his courtroom story of the champagne cork inspiration and played up a more conscious, deliberate inventive process.[6]

After winning a $10.2 million judgment from Ford, Kearns mostly acted as his own attorney in the subsequent suit against Chrysler, even questioning witnesses on the stand. The Chrysler verdict was decided in 1992, and was a victory for Kearns. Chrysler was ordered to pay Kearns US$18.7 million with interest.[7] Chrysler appealed the court decision, but the Federal Circuit let the judgment stand.[8] The Supreme Court declined to hear the case.[9] By 1995, after spending over US$ 10 million in legal fees,[10] Kearns received approximately US$ 30 million in compensation for Chrysler's patent infringement.[7]

Chrysler was represented by Harness Dickey and Pierce, one of the first firms Kearns went to when he contemplated suing Ford in the late 1970s. Indeed, according to his son Dennis Kearns, Kearns wanted Harness Dickey removed for conflict of interest, but was unable to convince his attorneys to make a motion to remove Harness Dickey. He then decided to manage the Chrysler litigation on his own with his family. However, this strategy did not seem to work out well in subsequent litigation against GM, Mercedes, and Japanese companies as he missed deadlines for filing papers and his cases were dismissed.[11]

The legal argument that the auto industry posed in defense was that an invention is supposed to meet certain standards of originality and novelty. One of these is that it be "non-obvious". Ford claimed that the patent was invalid because Kearns' intermittent windshield wiper system had no new components. Kearns noted that his invention was a novel and non-obvious combination of parts.[12][13] Kearns' position found unequivocal support in precedent from the U.S. Court of Appeals and from the Supreme Court of the United States. See, e.g., Reiner v. I. Leon Co., 285 F.2d 501, 503 (2d Cir. 1960) ("It is idle to say that combinations of old elements cannot be inventions; substantially every invention is for such a 'combination': that is to say, it consists of former elements in a new assemblage.") (Hand., J.) (cited with approval in KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007)).

Late career

In the late 1990s, he served on the board of directors of the Veterans of the Office of Strategic Services and the General William J. Donovan Memorial Fund.[14]

Death

On February 9, 2005, Kearns died of brain cancer complicated by Alzheimer's disease in Baltimore, Maryland. The story of his invention and the lawsuit against Ford forms the basis of the 2008 film, Flash of Genius. Kearns and his wife Phyllis were divorced. According to the film, Phyllis left Robert due to the stress of the court case. They had two daughters, four sons, and, at the time of his death, seven grandchildren.[4]

Patents

Notes

  1. ↑ In Memoriam to Robert W. Kearns, OSS Society Newsletter, Spring 2005, p.13: "Robert W. Kearns, 77, died in Baltimore on Feb. 9, 2005. He invented the adjustable windshield wiper for automobiles. During World War II he served with OSS."
  2. ↑ Schudel, Max, "Accomplished, Frustrated Inventor Dies", Washington Post, Saturday, February 26, 2005, Page B01: "Earlier in life, Kearns had been a high school cross-country star, an outstanding violinist and a teenage intelligence officer in World War II. But from 1976, his sole focus in life was to battle the auto giants and reclaim his invention."
  3. ↑ "Robert W Kearns". NameBase. Archived from the original on 2012-01-17. Retrieved 2012-01-20.
  4. 1 2 "Robert Kearns, Inventor of Intermittent Windshield Wipers and Battled Car Companies, Dies at 77" AP News, February 25, 2005
  5. ↑ Wohleber, Curt, The Windshield Wiper : Nonstop ones made drivers crazy. Inventing a solution did the same to Robert Kearns", American Heritage Invention and Technology, Summer 2007, Volume 23, Issue 1
  6. ↑ Johnson, Reed, Robert Kearns' flawed 'Genius' , AP / Los Angeles Times, October 3, 2008. Quoting the article about the cork and eye blinking inspiration: "When I asked him about that charming anecdote 15 years ago, Kearns quickly dismissed it as baloney".
  7. 1 2 Associated Press, Robert Kearns, 77, Inventor of Intermittent Wipers, Dies, New York Times obituary, February 26, 2005
  8. ↑ Kearns v. Chrysler Corp., 32 F.3d 1541 (Fed. Cir. 1994).
  9. ↑ 514 U.S. 1032.
  10. ↑ Ronspies, Jeff A., "Does David Need a New Sling? Small Entities Face a Costly Barrier to Patent Protection", 4 J. MARSHALL REV. INTELL. PROP. L. 184 (2004), The John Marshall Law School, Chicago. Cf. p.196.
  11. ↑ Schudel, Matt. "Accomplished, Frustrated Inventor Dies." The Washington Post. Saturday February 26, 2005. B01. Retrieved on August 13, 2011.
  12. ↑ Burk, Dan L., and Lemley, Mark A., "Policy Levers in Patent Law", Virginia Law Review, Vol. 89, No. 7 (Nov., 2003), pp. 1575-1696. Cf. p.1590-1591 and note 42.
  13. ↑ Merges, Robert P., "A Transactional View of Property Rights", Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, University of California, Berkeley, Year 2005 Paper 8. Cf. p.17 and note 37.
  14. ↑ Bob Kearns' Biography page

References

Further reading

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