GENERAL INFORMATION REGARDING PATENTS. WHAT IS A PATENT?-The term patent or letters patent is derived from litterae patentes, signifying that which is open or disclosed in contradistinction to lettre de cache, that which is sealed or secret. This term is the keynote of the whole principle upon which the patent system is built up, namely, disclosure. The disclosure must be honest, absolute and unreserved. The penalty for mental crookedness or for ignorance in giving out fully and freely the nature of the invention is severe and direct and is nothing less than forfeiture of the patent itself. The reason for this is perfectly logical and arises from the very meaning, spirit and nature of the relationship existing between the patentee and the government. The term of a patent is 17 years. During this term of 17 years the patentee obtains a monopoly under which he secures exclusive right of manufacture, use and sale. The patent itself, however, is in the nature of a contract between the patentee and the government, presumably for their mutual benefit. government grants to the inventor the exclusive right of manufacture and sale for 17 years on condition that the inventor shall disclose fully the nature of his invention or discovery, and shall allow the public the unrestricted use of the invention after this term has expired. If he fail in making full disclosure, he has not lived up to the terms of the implied contract and the patent thereby becomes null and void. It sometimes happens that an inventor discloses freely part of the invention, but cunningly conceals some essential step in the process, but if the case is tested within the courts and the real facts are brought to light, the patent will be declared invalid. At the end of the term of 17 years the patent becomes public property, and the article may be freely manufactured by any one. It can never thereafter, as in so many cases in the Middle Ages, become a lost art. The WHO MAY OBTAIN A PATENT?-In order to secure a valid patent, the applicant must declare upon oath that he believes himself to be the true, original and first inventor or discoverer of the art, machine, manufacture, composition or improvement for which he solicits a patent: that he does not know and does not believe that the same was ever before known or used; and that the invention has not been in public use or on sale in the United States for more than two years before the application was filed, and that the invention has not been described in any printed publication for more than two years prior to the filing of the application. Any one who can subscribe to the above conditions may apply for a patent, irrespective of race, color, age, or nationality. Minors and women and even convicts may apply for patents under our law. The rights even of a dead man in an invention are not lost, for an application may be filed in his name by his executor or administrator, and the rights of his heirs thereby safeguarded. The patent in this case would issue to the executor or administrator and would become subject to the administration of the estate like any other property left by the deceased. Even the rights of an insane person may not be lost, as the application may be filed by his legal guardian. If foreign patents for the same invention have been previously issued, having been filed more than 12 months before the filing of the United States application, the patent would be refused. The applicant must state his nationality. It often happens that two or more individuals have jointly worked upon the invention, and in this case the several inventors should jointly apply for the patent. Should they not so apply, the patent when issued would be invalid. If they are merely partners, however, and not co-inventors, they should not apply jointly for a patent, as the inventor alone is entitled to file the application. He may, however, assign a share in the patent to his partner, coupled with the request that the patent should issue to them jointly. It is of the greatest importance that these distinctions should be clearly understood; otherwise, the patent may be rendered invalid. WHAT MAY BE PATENTED?-Any new and useful art, machine, manufacture or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvements thereon. The thing invented must be new and useful. These are conditions precedent to the granting of a patent. Of these two conditions by far the more important is the former, and it is concerning the interpretation of this word "new" and its bearing upon the invention that the principal work and labor involved in passing an application safely through the Patent Office is involved. When the invention has been worked out by the inventor and he is prepared to file his application, his attorney prepares the ne es ary papers, as provided for by law, namely: An Oath, a Petition, a Specification consisting of a description of the invention and concluding with claims which specifically set forth what the inventor claims to be the novel features of the invention, and drawings which are prepared and filed with the case, and in due course the application is ready for examination in the Patent Office. The question of whether the invention is new is then considered, and the burden of proof that the invention is not new rests upon the Patent Office. The examination consists in searching through the files of the Patent Office among the patents that have been already issued, and through such literature as may bear upon the subject. If any reference is discovered that anticipates the invention, as defined by the claims of the specification, the anplicant is informed of the fact, and he is allowed to amend his papers and narrow the claims so as to avoid the prior patents, if possible. If his attorney considers the position of the Patent Office untenable, he may present arguments to show wherein he believes that the inventor is entitled to a patent. It is thus seen that the question of whether an invention is new is one of fact, and one of the greatest importance. and upon the showing that the inventor is able to make during the prosecution of the case, depends largely the future success of the patent. The evidence adduced in proving that the invention is not new must be tangible and accessible. A patent would not be refused or overturned on a mere mental concept. There must be some evidence of a substantial character that serves to show that the earlier idea was reduced to practice or at least that there was such a description or drawing made, as would be sufficient for one skilled in the art to reduce the invention to practice. If it has not been actually reduced to practice, it must be a concrete not an abstract idea. It is essential that the application for a patent should be filed before the invention has been in public use or on sale for a period of two years. If the inventor has publicly used or sold his invention for a period of two years, it becomes public property and he cannot regain the right to obtain a patent. He may, however, make models and experiment with his invention for a much longer period, provided he does not disclose his invention to the public or put it into actual use or on sale for a period of two years. The word "useful" is not one which usually gives either the Patent Office or the inventor a great deal of trouble, as any degree of utility, however insignificant, will serve to entitle the inventor to a patent. It has often happened that an invention which appears, at the time the patent is applied for, to have no special utility, in later years, owing to new discoveries or improvements in the arts, is found to possess the greatest merit and value. Unless an invention is positively meretricious, therefore, it is difficult to assume that it either has no utility or never will have any. Patents are granted for "any new and useful art, machine, manufacture or composition of matter, or any improvement thereon." It is seen from the terms of the statute that almost any creature of the inventive faculty of man becomes a proper subject for a patent. The exceptions are very few. Patents will not be granted, for example, for any invention that offends the law of nature. Under this category may be mentioned perpetual motion machines. In case an application of this character is presented, the Commissioner politely informs the applicant that the matter cannot be considered until a working model demonstrating the principle of the invention has been deposited in the Patent Office. Inventions of an immoral nature will not be considered. Medicines and specifics are not now proper subjects for letters patent, unless some important new discovery is involved. PATENTED ARTICLES MUST BE MARKED.-Articles manufactured and sold under a patent must be so marked that the public shall have notice that the article is a patented one. This notice consists of the word "Patented." together with the date when the patent was issued or the Serial Number of the patent. Damages in an infringement suit cannot be recovered unless the defendant has received such notice that the article is patented. The term of a United States patent is 17 years. This term cannot be extended except by special Act of Congress. It is many years since a bill seeking an extension of the term of a patent has been passed by Congress. APPEALS. If an application for a patent has been rejected, the applicant may appeal from the Primary Examin er to the Board of Examiners-in-Chief. He may further carry the appeal to the Commissioner of Patents, and in case he is not satisfied with the latter decision, he may carry the appeal finally to the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia. INTERFERENCE.-If two or more individuals shall have invented the same thing at or about the same time, interference proceedings may be instituted to determine which applicant is the original or first inventor. Interference proceedings are instituted between applicants whose applications are pending or between a pending application and a patent already issued, provided the latter patent has not been issued for more than two years prior to the filing of the conflicting application. The proceedings are conducted before the Examiner of Interferences. Appeal may be taken from the Examiner of Interferences to the Board of Examiners-in-Chief, and from the Board of Examiners-in-Chief to the Commis sioner, and thence to the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia. Not all the claims for a patent are necessarily involved, only such as cover the particular feature of the invention which is declared to be in interference. The unsuccessful applicant by eliminating the claims or claim in controversy may procure allowance of the other claims not objected to, and have the patent issued. In determining the question of priority of invention. witnesses are examined and the proceedings are conducted much in the same manner as in a suit at law. The first step in the proceeding consists in filing with the Commissioner a Preliminary Statement made under oath, giving the date at which the invention was first conceived and reduced to some tangible form, such as the making of drawings, the construction of a model, or the disclosing of the invention to another. The object of the subsequent examination and cross-examination is to substantiate the date of invention as claimed by the applicants respectively, and to establish the priority of invention. INFRINGEMENT.-In case of an action for the infringement of a patent, the importance of the question of novelty appears from the special pleadings which the defendant may enter, which are as follows: 1. That for the purpose of deceiving the public the description and specification filed by the patentee in the Patent Office was made to contain less than the whole truth relative to his invention or discovery, or more than is necessary to produce the desired effect; or, 2. That he had surreptitiously or unjustly obtained the patent for that which was in fact invented by another, who was using reasonable diligence in adapting and perfecting the same; or, 3. That it had been patented or described in some printed publication prior to his supposed invention or discovery thereof; or, 4. That he was not the original and first inventor or discoverer of any material and substantial part of the thing patented; or, 5. That it has been in public use or on sale in this country for more than two years before his application for a patent, or had been abandoned to the public. Damages for infringement of a patent may be recovered by action on the case in the name of the patentee or his assignee. The courts having jurisdiction over such cases have the power (1) to grant injunctions against the violation of any right secured by the patent; (2) to allow the recovery of damages sustained by the complainant through such infringement. such a case the defendant is compelled to furnish an accounting showing the amount of the articles manufactured and sold and the profits derived from such sale. In DESIGN PATENTS.-Design patents are issued for any new or original design, whether it be a work of art, statue, bas-relief, design for prints or fabrics, or for any new design or shape or ornament in any article of manufacture. The scope of the design patent was formerly very broad, but recent decisions and enactments have greatly restricted its availability and a design patent cannot now be obtained unless it possesses some inherent artistic quality. Mere utility is not sufficient to entitle a new design to letters patent. The terms of design patents are 3 1-2, 7 or 14 years. CAVEATS. Any one who has made a new invention or discovery, which is not yet completed or perfected, may file in the Patent Office a caveat. describing his invention, said caveat serving as notice to the Patent Office that the caveator is in possession of a certain invention partly developed, for which later he proposes to file an application for a patent. The caveat is filed by the Commission in the secret archives of the Patent Office, and is It operative for a term of one year. The term may be prolonged from year to year by the payment of a small fee. The caveat should not be confounded with a patent, for it gives the inventor no real protection or monopoly. simply entitles him to notice in case another inventor files an application for the same invention. In this event the caveator is entitled to three months' grace within which to file his patent application, whereupon an interference will be declared between the two inventions. ASSIGNMENTS.-A patent or any interest therein may be sold or assigned ABSTRACTS OF Where an inventor has completed his invention, if he neither applies for a patent nor puts it to practical use. a subsequent inventor who promptly applies is entitled to the patent, and the first one is deemed to have abandoned his rights. Pattee v. Russell, 3 O. G., 181; Ex parte Carre, 5 0. G., 30; Johnson v. Root, 1 Fisher, 351. As between two rival inventors, the test of priority is the diligence of the one first to conceive it. If he has been diligent in perfecting it, he is entitled to receive the patent. If he has been negligent, the patent is awarded to his opponent. Robinson on Patents. Sec. 375. The construction and use in public of a working machine, whether the inventor has or has not abandoned it, excludes the grant of a patent to a subsequent inventor. An abandonment in such case inures to the benefit of the public and not to the benefit of a subsequent inventor. Young v. Van Duser, 16 O. G., 95. A mere aggregation or combination of old devices is not patentable when the elements are unchanged in function and effect. They are patentable when, "by the action of the elements upon each other, or by their joint action on their common object, they perform additional functions and accomplish additional effects." Robinson on Patents, Sec. 154. A change of shape enabling an instrument to perform new functions is invention. Wilson v. Coon, 18 Blatch. 532; Collar Co. v. White, 7 O. G., 690, 877. A patent which is simply for a method of transacting business or keeping accounts is not valid. U. S. Credit System Co. v. American Indemnity Co., 63 O. G., 318. An like any other piece of property. inventor may sell or assign his interest or a part interest in his invention, either before the application is filed or while the application is still pending. Under these circumstances the patent may be issued to the assignee or to the inventor and assignee jointly. The patent, if already issued, may be assigned by the owner whether he be the inventor or assignee. The conveyance is effected by an instrument in writing stating the conditions under which the patent is assigned, and the assignment should be recorded in the Patent Office.-Enc. Americana. DECISIONS. The law requires that manufacturers of patented articles give notice to the public that the goods are patented by marking thereon the date of the patent or giving equivalent notice. When this law is not complied with, only nominal damages can be recovered. Wilson v. Singer Mfg. Co., 4 Bann. & A. 637; McCourt v. Brodie, 5 Fisher, 384. To prevent fraudulent impositions on the public it is forbidden that unpatented articles be stamped "Patented," and where this is done with intention to deceive, a penalty of one hundred dollars and costs for each article so stamped is provided. person may bring action against such offenders. Walker v. Hawxhurst, 5 Blatch. 494; Tompkins v. Butterfield, 25 Fed. Rep. 556. Any A patentee is bound by the limitations imposed on his patent, whether they are voluntary or enforced by the Patent Office, and if he accepts claims not covering his entire invention he abandons the remainder. Toepfer v. Goetz, 41 O. G., 933. Claims should be construed, if possible, to sustain the patentee's right to all he has invented. Ransom v. Mayor of N. Y. (1856), Fisher, 252. The assignor of a patented invention is estopped from denying the validity of his own patent or his own title to the interest transferred. He cannot become the owner of an older patent and hold it against his assignee. Robinson on Patents, Sec. 787, and notes. Any assignment which does not convey to the assignee the entire and unqualified monopoly which the patentee holds in the territory specified, or an undivided interest in the entire monopoly, is a mere license. Sanford v. Messer, 2 O. G., 470. FOREIGN PATENTS. CANADA, DOMINION OF.-The laws of Canada follow somewhat closely the practice in the United States. The term of a patent is 18 years. The general practice, however, is to divide the fees, making payment only for a term of six years at one time. Applications are subjected to examination as to novelty and usefulness, as in the United States. The application must be filed in Canada not later than during the year following the issue of the United States or other foreign patent. If the inventor neglects to file his application within the 12 months, the invention becomes public property. It is not permissible to import the patented article into the Dominion after 12 months from the date of the Canadian patent. Within two years from said date the manufacture and sale of the article under the patent must have been begun. These exactions may be relaxed under certain conditions. GREAT BRITAIN.-The term of the patent is 14 years. After January, 1905, an examination will be made in Great Britain to ascertain whether the invention has been disclosed in the specifications of British patents granted within fifty years of the filing of the British application. While this will be the extent of the examination by the Patent Office, it will be sufficient to invalidate a British patent to show in court that the invention was published, or was in public use, in Great Britain before the priority of the British application. In Great Britain the true inventor should apply for the patent in his own name; but if the invention has been conceived in a foreign country, the first introducer may obtain the patent whether he be the true inventor or not. Under these circumstances, therefore, a foreign assignee may apply for the patent in his own name without the true inventor being known. the fourth year there are annual taxes, gradually increasing in amount. The patent becomes void if the tax is not paid. No time is set within which the manufacture of the invention must be commenced, but after three years if the manufacture has not been begun, the patentee may be compelled to grant licenses, or the patent may be declared invalid. After FRANCE. The term of a patent is 15 years. There is no examination as to novelty, and the patent is granted to the first applicant, whether or not he be the true inventor. The life of the patent depends upon the payment of annual taxes. The patent must be worked in France within three years of the filing of the application. If these conditions are not complied with, the patent becomes public property. GERMANY.-The term of a patent is 15 years. The patent is issued to the first applicant, but if he is not the true inventor he should, before filing the application, obtain the written consent of the inventor. The application is subjected to a rigid examination. The patent is subject to an annual progressive tax, and must be worked within a period of three years. to AUSTRIA. The term of a patent is 15 years. The practice is somewhat similar to the practice in Germany, although the examination is generally not so exacting. The patent is subject an annual tax and it must be worked within a period of three years. HUNGARY.-The term of a patent is 15 years. The laws are similar to those of Germany. There is a progressive annual tax and the patent must be worked within a period of three years. BELGIUM.-The term of a patent is 20 years. The first applicant obtains the patent whether or not he is the true inventor. There is a small annual tax, and the patent should be worked within three years or within one year of the working elsewhere. ITALY.-The term of a patent is 15 years. The patent is granted to the first applicant. The patent is subject to an annual tax, and the working must take place within three years. RUSSIA. The term of the patent is 15 years. The patent is subject to the payment of annual taxes and must be worked within five years. SPAIN. The term of the patent is 20 years, subject to the payment of annual taxes. It must be worked within three years. The patent is issued to the first applicant, whether or not he be the true inventor. SWITZERLAND.-The term of the patent is 15 years, subject to an annual tax. Working must take place within three years. Only the true inventor or his assignee can obtain a patent. NORWAY.-Term of patent is 15 years, subject to a small annual tax. The patent must be worked within three years. The application must be filed in the name of the true inventor or his legal representative. Applica |