AllenArchery,Inc.v.PrecisionShootingEquip.,Inc.(7th1989).docVIP

ALLEN ARCHERY, INC. v. PRECISION SHOOTING EQUIP., INC. UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SEVENTH CIRCUIT 865 F.2d 896; 9 U.S.P.Q.2d 1728 January 20, 1989 WOOD, JR., Circuit Judge. This is a contract case arising out of a patent license granted by plaintiff-appellee Allen Archery, Inc. (Allen) to defendant-appellant Precision Shooting Equipment (Precision) and Defendant Paul E. Shepley. The parties dispute the amount of royalties due Allen for the use by Precision of Allens invention. The district court found that Precision had incorrectly computed the royalties due under the licensing agreement and awarded Allen the sum of $395,913.59 plus costs in the amount of $ 3,536.11. Precision appeals. I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND On December 30, 1969, United States patent No. 3,486,495 entitled Archery Bow with Draw Force Multiplying Attachments was issued to Holless W. Allen. The patent was assigned to plaintiff-appellant Allen Archery, Inc. in 1973 and it expired in 1986. The patent relates to an archery bow known commonly to archers and the archery industry as the compound bow. The longbow or straight bow has been in existence for centuries and consists of a single piece of material with a single bowstring attached to the ends of the limbs. Another traditional bow, the recurve bow, is similar to the longbow, but its limbs curve forward at the tips where the bowstring is attached. The crossbow is a weapon having a short bow known as a prod. The prod is mounted crosswise at the end of a stock. The compound bow system covered by Allens patent employs rotatable pulleys or cams and multiple-line lacing of the bowstring or cable to create compound leverage. The important advantage of the compound bow, as opposed to more conventional bows, is that the compound bow casts an arrow at greater speed with increased striking power while reducing the amount of force needed to draw the bow. Reducing the peak pull force, the maximum force the archer has to apply in pulling the str