William Gluckin & Co. v. International Playtex Corp.

International Playtex Corporation (Playtex) (defendant) sued F.W. Woolworth & Co. (Woolworth) for patent infringement in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Playtex alleged that Woolworth sold a bra at its Gainesville, Georgia, store that infringed a Playtex patent. Playtex, a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in New York, operated three factories in Georgia. Woolworth was incorporated and maintained its principal place of business in New York and had stores throughout the United States. The bra in question was manufactured by William Gluckin & Co. (Gluckin) (plaintiff). Gluckin was incorporated and maintained its principal place of business in New York and was not subject to the jurisdiction of the Georgia court. All the individuals with knowledge of the design and marketing of the bra lived in New York or New Jersey, all Playtex’s business records were in New York, and all negotiations concerning the sale of the bra occurred in New York. Gluckin did not conduct any business operations in Georgia, and no one connected with Woolworth’s Georgia store had knowledge of the patent. One month after Playtex filed its Georgia lawsuit, Gluckin filed an action against Playtex in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, requesting a declaratory judgment for patent invalidity and noninfringement. The New York court issued an injunction staying the Georgia action pending the outcome of the New York case. Playtex appealed.