Held in Oklahoma, lasting more than a week,
To resolve disagreement, and justice to seek;
Filed in 1978, tried twice in seven years,
The case was enough, to cause frustration and tears;
Initially including theft, of secrets of trade,
With a directed verdict, that claim began to fade;
Also involving a patent, its claims 1 and 6,
A charge of infringement, and associated tricks;
Directed verdict, on that issue too,
The plaintiff appealed, seeking trial anew;
Affirmed on the trade secrets, but reversed in part,
Returning the patent issue, for a brand new start;
That is the background, leading to a second trial,
Which proved unique, of that there's no denial;
Preliminary matters, occupied the first day,
A jury was selected, in a rather calm way,
With the opening statement, the fur began to fly,
Objections and accusations, started whizzing by;
Also on the first day, the plaintiff's case began,
And a series of firsts, for any trial fan;
For its first witness, not exactly a friend,
Defendant's engineer, and the rules began to bend;
Plaintiff tried but failed, to get the witness to say,
Something favorable, even helpful in any way;
For its second witness, a suspicious young man,
And in the audience, most of his clan;
President and stockholder, also the whole firm,
He testified bravely, but also did squirm;
For it was evident, and to most very clear,
That he exaggerated and lied, to impress all those near;
His demeanor changed, between direct and cross,
When faced with facts, he seemed at a loss;
With two depositions, the plaintiff then closed,
A motion for directed verdict, the defendant again posed;
Having once been reversed, the judge was most wise,
This time he denied, with a glint in his eyes;
So the case went on, starting with day three,
The defendant's turn, to help the jury to see;
To understand patents and circuits, multiplexers as well,
To compare two systems, how the differences to tell;
The defendant used charts, with colors so bold,
To simplify the facts, and a story to mold;
The story involved four witnesses, almost three days,
Their testimony was sound, clearing away any haze;
Day five included rebuttal, and motions too,
And jury instructions, more than a few;
Most of day six, was behind the scene,
In judge's chambers, while the jury got mean;
By 3:00 that day, the end was in sight,
The jury would take over, that very night;
In closing arguments, a typical ploy,
The plaintiff was presented, as a good old boy;
Using both counsel, they did try,
Their local boy wonder, to fortify;
Defendant argued clearly, with precision and care,
To convince the jury, to be reasonable and fair;
The defendant's battle, from the beginning uphill,
Was hard and well-fought, but professional still;
Day seven arrived, and at 9:00 that morn,
The jury was instructed, a marshall was sworn;
By 10:15, their deliberations had started,
The courtroom emptied, all observers departed;
Awaiting the verdict, allowed time to reflect,
To review the trial, and fears to deflect;
The judge was grandfatherly, both quiet and kind,
Among the very best, of judges you'll find;
The case was complicated, and what's more,
The jury was faced, with an unenviable chore;
To rule for the defendant, while just and right,
Would put the plaintiff, in an unfavorable light;
For six neighbors, that would be hard,
A local boy's image, would certainly by marred;
So the defendant was leery, actually queasy,
Lest the jury follow, the path most easy;
But that afternoon, the jury did its duty,
An invalidity holding, a bit of startling beauty;
Expensive indeed, but justice was done,
The system's not perfect, but the right side won!