State V. Thomason

Defendant is a mechanic, inventor, and businessman in the construction industry. He owns a patent on cast-in-place pipe machinery, which forms concrete irrigation pipe as the machine travels along the ditch dug for the pipe. Defendant had several business dealings with Kokosing Construction Co. (Kokosing) and was well-acquainted with Brad Burgett, the manager of Kokosing's western division in Phoenix. At the time of the incident at issue in this case, Kokosing was building a cast-in-place machine, which defendant believed to be an infringement of his patent rights. Acting on this belief, defendant decided to take photographs of Kokosing's machine in order to prove patent infringement. Defendant and the state presented conflicting versions of the events that followed.