Robert Kearns, the inventor of intermittent windshield wipers who won multimillion-dollar judgments against Ford and Chrysler for using his idea, has died, aged 77, at his home in suburban Baltimore, according to the Associated Press (AP).
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The report said Kearns, a onetime Wayne State University professor, received numerous patents in 1967 for his design for wipers that paused between swipes, making them useful in very light rain or mist – the invention allowed the driver to set the interval at which the wiper sweeps the window.
AP said Kearns hawked his invention around to various car makers but did not reach a licensing deal with any of them. However, carmakers eventually began offering intermittent wipers as standard or optional equipment.
Kearns sued Ford in 1978 and Chrysler in 1982, claiming patent infringement, the report said.
In 1990, a jury decided that Ford infringed on Kearns’ patent, though it concluded the infringement was not deliberate. Ford had contended the patent was invalid because the windshield system contained no new concepts. But Kearns argued a new combination of parts made his invention unique, the Associated Press said.
That jury reportedly failed to reach agreement on how much he should be awarded, and another jury later ordered Ford to pay Kearns $US6.3 million, trimmed by a judge to $5.2 million. To settle the case, the car giant later agreed to pay $10.2 million and to drop all appeals, the report added.
The Associated Press said Chrysler ended up being ordered to pay Kearns $18.7 million plus interest. The Supreme Court rejected Chrysler’s bid to overturn the award in 1995.
“I don’t think the goal was the magnitude of the money,” Kearns reportedly said when the Ford case was ended. “What I saw (as) my role was to defend the patent system. If I don’t go further, there really isn’t a patent system.”
AP noted that Kearns’ subsequent lawsuit against General Motors was dismissed, as were his lawsuits against foreign car makers, and much of the money he was awarded went on legal expenses.
Kearns, who was acting as his own lawyer during parts of the long battle, reportedly was disappointed because the courts didn’t bar the companies from continuing to use the wipers – he had hoped not just to collect royalties but make the devices himself.
US District Judge Avern Cohn, who presided over five of Kearns’ trials, told the Associated Press that Kearns was frustrated because he wanted to be a major manufacturer.
“He was feisty, determined and he established the fact that he made a contribution to the auto industry that was unique,” Cohn reportedly said. “His zeal got ahead of his judgment.”
Maureen Kearns told the Associated Press her father’s home was filled with legal files. After a point, she said, “his life was simply this battle.”
