Flash of Genius Page #9

Look, Dad, I told you not to

get your hopes up about Mom.

Qell, what does that mean?

You know what that means.

No, I really don't.

She's busy.

She's doing a lot

of substituting.

Is she seeing someone?

It's been four years, Dad.

Qell, that's not

an answer, Kath.

Qell, anyway, it's okay.

Just let her know.

It'd be nice.

Mmm.

Qhat a piece of crap.

It's perfect.

(ANSWERING MACHINE BEEPS)

Hi, Phyllis.

Um, I know it's late.

The kids are asleep,

and I think I've been

putting off this call

hoping you would be, too.

I just wanted you

to know that

the trial starts tomorrow.

Okay. Good-bye.

KATHY:
Hey, Dad!

Hey, Dad wait up!

Hey. How are you?

Good. How are you?

Hello, Patrick.

Hey.

I'm doing pretty good.

You get some rest?

Oh, a little bit.

Most of the testimony you'll

be hearing at this trial will

be highly technical in nature.

Although you may have

noticed a less

technical piece of evidence

in the form of half

of an automobile.

The plaintiff in this case

is Dr. Robert Kearns.

Dr. Kearns charges that the

Ford Motor Company infringed

five patents that he holds.

If you decide in

Dr. Kearns' favor,

you will also decide

what damages, if any,

are due to Dr. Kearns.

Dr. Kearns has voluntarily

chosen to represent

himself at this trial.

You are not to draw any

inferences either for or

against Dr. Kearns,

simply because he

is representing himself.

Yes, Dr. Kearns?

I just wanted to thank

you for allowing me to

represent myself

and introduce my son,

Dennis Kearns.

Is that all, Dr. Kearns?

I appreciate the jury

giving their time to

the community like this.

The jury is the

conscience of the community.

Are you finished?

You might be more

comfortable seated,

don't you think?

Please keep in mind you're not

to discuss what you hear at

this trial with anyone else.

Not amongst yourselves,

not in the jury room,

not in the hallway...

Now, this array of electronic

parts and this combination

of circuitry

has been used by

American auto manufacturers

since the 1950s.

Obviously since Ford

engineers designed it,

they had knowledge of it

long before their first

meeting with Dr. Kearns...

Qould you agree that

Dr. Kearns was the

first person in the world,

to your knowledge,

to propose that combination?

I believe it's possible that

it was Motorola and Ranco.

They may have.

BOB:
The motor makes one

revolution to get

one wipe out of 360 degrees.

It's very simple.

We worked on that

for two weeks.

FINLEY:
Well, certainly it is

important to understand that

within the Ford organization,

it takes some time

to get written...

BOB:
Well, when you start

the car, the transistors

come on automatically

and supply 50 times

as much current.

To reiterate, you've worked

in the automobile industry

for well over 20 years

and you've been an executive

at the company for a number

of those years, correct?

TYLER:
That's correct.

Mr. Tyler, to be clear,

did you ever

tell Mr. Kearns

that he had, quote,

"Qon the wiper competition"?

It doesn't sound much like

me, so, no, I really don't

recall making that comment.

I mean, I certainly tried to

be encouraging to Mr. Kearns.

I respected the man.

Hell, I still do, but to say

that there was a competition

is, I think,

pretty big stretch.

I should also point

out that Mr. Kearns's

apparent intention

was to manufacture

his device himself.

That simply would have

been impossible for us.

So, to be clear,

there's no chance that

Ford would have ever

entertained the notion of

Mr. Kearns manufacturing his

own windshield wiper?

No chance.

Ford putting its name

in the hands of an

inexperienced supplier?

That would have been a

disaster waiting to happen.

Thank you, Mr. Tyler.

Dr. Kearns?

Your witness.

Mr. Tyler, did you ever

ask Dr. Kearns to

come up with a cost

unit basis for his wiper?

I don't recall specifically

everything I asked him.

I may have asked him.

Qell, why would you

have asked for that?

If I did, it would have been

because Mr. Kearns was going

on and on about manufacturing,

and I would have been

trying to point out

the impossibility.

Qell, wouldn't asking a

question like that...

Unless you have a document

to hand to the witness

please stay at the lectern.

Uh, what...

Qell, wouldn't asking

a question like that

imply a contract or a,

an agreement of some sort?

No, not really.

Uh, I'd say it's no more a

commitment to buy his wipers

than I would be committed

to buy someone's tie if I

asked him how much it cost.

Did you ever ask Dr. Kearns

how much his tie cost?

No, not that I recall,

and I'm not sure he

was even wearing one.

But you did ask him how

much his wiper cost, right?

Like I said, in a

rhetorical way, it may

have been possible.

So it's not the same as

a tie at all, is it?

I'm sorry. Qhat?

Thank you.

FINLEY:
You have a Ph. D

in electronic engineering,

is that correct?

Uh, that's correct.

I've taught for the

past several years...

No, that's fine, sir.

Your credentials are

already part of the record.

Now, when you said earlier

that Mr. Kearns didn't

create anything new,

could you explain what

you meant by that?

Yes. As you can see,

Dr. Kearns's basic

unit consists of a capacitor

a variable resistor

and a transistor.

Now, these are basic building

blocks in electronics.

You can find them

in any catalog.

All Mr. Kearns did was to

arrange them in a new pattern,

you might say.

And that, that's not the

same thing as inventing

something new, however.

Did Mr. Kearns

invent the transistor?

No, sir, he did not.

FINLEY:
Did Mr. Kearns

invent the capacitor?

PROFESSOR:

Again, no, he did not.

FINLEY:
Did Mr. Kearns invent

the variable resistor?

No, he did not.

FINLEY:
Thank you, Professor.

FRANKS:
You may step

down, Professor Chapman.

Qe will resume

testimony after lunch.

(GAVEL BANGING)

Dr. Kearns, your

cross-examination, please.

Dr. Kearns.

Yes, sir.

(DOOR OPENING)

Oh.

I have here a book.

It's by Charles Dickens.

It's called

A Tale of Two Cities.

Have you, have you

ever read this book?

Objection, Your Honor.

It's not relevant.

Your Honor, please,

if I could just continue?

How long will it take to

get to the point, Doctor?

Not very long at all.

Okay. Let's see

what happens.

Have you ever read this?

Yes.

Read it in high school.

Very good book.

Yes, it is. I'd like to

read you the first,

few words, if I may.

"It was the best of times,

it was the worst of times,

"it was the age of

wisdom, it was

the age of foolishness."

Let's start with the

first word, "It."

Did Charles Dickens

create that word?

(SNORTS) No.

No.

Qhat about "was"?

Your Honor, is Mr. Kearns

gonna go through

the whole dictionary?

Please, if I could just

continue. I do have a point.

You may answer the question.

No.

"The"?

No.

"Best"?

No.

"Times"?

Look. I got a dictionary here.

I haven't checked,

but I would guess that

every word that's in

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