Summary of facts

• Author: Joseph M. Potenza - Christopher J. Renk - Thomas K. Pratt - Erik S. Maurer
• Pages: 7-8

Section C

Summary of Facts

In the summer of 2005, George L. Parrish and Charley A. Cooley designed and constructed

several leveling instruments of the type used in the construction trade by carpenters, bricklayers,

cabinetmakers, and the like. One portion of the level was extensible with respect to another portion

to permit a length adjustment of the level. The level included a locking feature which immobilized

the two portions of the level with respect to each other, when desired.

The original general concept was probably that of George Parrish. The details of the design

were worked out by Charley Cooley, although some modification was subsequently necessary when

George Parrish actually attempted to construct the first working model. After the first model was

constructed, several additional identical levels were constructed and given to the crew chiefs of

Parish Construction Company. A few of these levels were also used by marketing people to obtain

feedback on the new design from stores in several cities in the United States. At the time these

levels were constructed, George Parrish was president of Parrish Construction, while Charley Cooley

was vice-president of planning and design.

After several months, the crew chiefs expressed their satisfaction with the new adjustable

level, so on March 20, 2006 a patent application was filed by George Parrish and Charley Cooley

(Serial Number 452,879). Realizing that they, themselves, would probably not be able to

commercially exploit this invention to its fullest, George Parish contacted Bullivant Tool, Inc. of

Chicago, a small, but respected, quality tool maker, for possible license or sale of the idea, including

the patent rights. Bullivant was then marketing an extensible level, model B-100, under U.S. Patent

No. 5,351,524. After some negotiation, an agreement was reached, and the application, which was

about to issue, and all the patent rights were assigned to Bullivant Tool. Under the Agreement,

George and Charley would each receive a quarterly payment of 5 percent of the wholesale price of

each level.

A summary of the prosecution of the application in the Patent Office is located in DX-2. The

first office action rejected the patent application as anticipated under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) in view of

the Bullivant U.S. Patent No. 5,351,524. The claims were amended to overcome the rejection. This

application issued on April 22, 2007 as U.S. Patent No. 5,624,056.

George L. Parrish was born on April 26, 1967. After graduating from high school on May 22,

1985, George served four years in the United States Army as enlisted personnel in the Corps of

Engineers stationed in Germany. He was discharged from the Army on September 3, 1989. He then

joined the family business, Parrish Construction Company, as a construction crew chief and worked

in various positions in the company. In 2001, George became president of the company upon the

retirement of his father, Lamar Parrish.

On February 18, 2009, George L. Parrish died of injuries suffered in an accident at a construction

site. His co-inventor and lifelong friend, Charley A. Cooley, succeeded him as president of Parrish

Construction Company. The name of the company was subsequently changed to Cooley-Parrish

Construction, Inc., of Columbus, Ohio. George’s wife, Sue Parrish, was named as executrix of

George’s Estate.

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