In April, 1992, Roger Plumley, a sales representative for a plastics manufacturer, filed a patent application for a plastic grommet to be used to cover the hole on the top of a desk that computer cables and other cords may be routed through. Plumley had never previously filed a successful patent application.
Two months later, Douglas Mockett filed a patent application for a virtually identical device. Mockett owned Doug Mockett & Company, Inc. (DMC), which marketed furniture-related products designed and patented by Mockett, including various kinds of grommets.
