Page "Gore-Tex" Paragraph 3

In the 1970s Garlock, Inc. infringed Gore's patents and was promptly sued by Gore in the Federal District Court of Ohio.

After a " bitterly contested case " that " involved over two years of discovery, five weeks of trial, the testimony of 35 witnesses ( 19 live, 16 by deposition ), and over 300 exhibits ," ( quoting the Federal Circuit ) the District Court held Gore's patents to be invalid.

On appeal, however, the Federal Circuit disagreed in the famous case of Gore v. Garlock, reversing the lower court's decision on the ground, inter alia, that Cropper forfeited any superior claim to the invention by virtue of having concealed the process for making ePTFE from the public, thereby establishing Gore as the legal inventor.