James Halford was a university-trained farmer who invented a device for putting seeds and fertilizer into the ground in one operation. It was a relatively simple device but he was granted a patent for it. Norbert Beaujot, an engineer and part-time farmer, developed a similar device and incorporated a company to commercially exploit it. Halford sued. Beaujot had seen the Halford device in operation before he developed his own, but the machine he developed was quite different although it accomplished the same thing.

What is the nature of Halford's complaint?