Free World Trust was the rightful owner of the patents of invention numbered 1,113,156 (the "'156 patent") and 1,150,361 (the "'361 patent") issued in 1981 and 1983 respectively. On December 15, 2000, in the case of Free World Trust v. Électro Santé Inc., a decision was rendered by the Supreme Court of Canada on the infringement of patents 156 and 361. The decision would create a legal precedent cited in at least 148 Canadian trials. The case was even noted in Canada for setting out "the test for patent infringement " and "the principles of purposive claim construction". The court transcripts explain that Électro Santé Inc., a competitor, developed similar technology that used a microcontroller rather than the circuits. Free World Trust sued Électro Santé for patent infringement on the ground that although the means may be different the result of the inventions were the same.