The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1853-03-12

10 be fatal to the bill 1t is like an ancient monopoly
and AZ much as desire 10 encourage inventors do not
IbinI the public ought 10 be wronged for their benefit
Indeed The true interest OF inventors as class Is TO
deal fairly with the public, in order that they may re-
eeye liberal treatment in return One such act as
this provided their machine has gone into general use
land i has not the patent not worth extending
would do more 10 destroy the foundation on which pat
ents stand than twenty such Inventions could repair
The maxim OF the law is that the laws give their aid TO
The vigilan and not to the negligent and do not see
why paenees are not as much affected by this principle
any other persons. Even real estate which is the
cuar fayorle OF the law OF England is lost by long de-
lay IN claiming II. YET there may be cases IN which,
from peculiar circumstances, Congress ought 10
extend patent after il has expired; always guarding
however the rights OF those who have acquired them al
ter the expiration. The other objections 10 the bill are
| equally cogen
The bill provides that the patent shall be extended, and
that in addition to what is contained in the patent ITSELF
the inventors may incorporate "the Improvements ~
vented by Them either OF them, in perecting said ma
chine, in any part thereof from the'date OF their original
patent to the day from which the same hereby renew
ed and extended" This provision is monsrous, Who
is 10 say what those Improvements are The inventors
are not even required TO swear 10 them and no onels
authorized examine, and allow reject them, is the
of an original grant OF patent The inventor him
self simply draws sort of appendix TO his patent and
that is incorporated into his grant for fourteen years
come But what is the object OF this provision Exam
inc its operation and Suppose these persons 10 have
invented improvements within the time mentioned, and
what is the condition OF such improvements 10 respect to
the inventors and the public They must be in of
four conditions Either they invented less than two
years ago, or they were invented more Than two years
ago, and invented than two years they have
either been abandoned 10 the public by allowing them to
be used and sod or they still in The breasts OF the in
ventors, and unknown to the public.
Now, the act Of 1897 allows inventor to his in
venon two years before patentng it, IN order 10 enable
him to test It's value and perfect IFS operations but that
use must be for such purpose, and must not amount TO
dedication 10 The public This is very liberal provision
of the law, and is great Improvement on the English
system in this respect If therefore, the improvements
spoken OF In this act were Invented within two years.
these claimants have patent for them by applying
at the Patent Office, and paying $50. without calling into
action the extraordinary power OF Congress to aid them
If, however, they go TO the Patent Office, they must
swear 10 their Inventions, and then they subject il
TO the critical examination of the Office before they
have patent Not SO if they can pass this bill and
can reason why these claimants should have any
greater exemption in this respect than Others equally mer
loroHs. But if the improvements spoken OF were in
vented more than two years ago, they either ded
Gated to the public they not If they dedicated
to the public, by allowing them 10 be used and sold for
long time without any attempt TO take PATENT nothing
can be palmer than that Congress cannot take such rights
back again without violating the principle before spoken
OF, and enacting an odious monopoly Under such cir
cumslanCes, their improvements have become private
property each person who has bought them from Moore
Il Hasca from Others and cannot be taken back again
ceden for such legislation this in the statute book
and cannot consent 10 make precedent which would at
once bring patents into odum again. and very far to
destroy that enlightened system under the fostering in
fuence of which much good has been already done
The whole country. How would any gentleman within
the sound of my voice feel If called upon to desis from
The of machine which he had purchased years ago.
not patented, but which, after five ten years, was
brought under the operation OF an act like this and de-
cared TO be special property All of us would say, if
this be the patent law, lei us have no more OF it
This leaves but other view of the case AMI that is
the improvements were made more than two years ago.
que any TO patent his invention when he makes IT,,
or to declare the manner OF its This he may keep
have patent when he does disclose it, patent is only
the contract between the public and the inventor; the
consideration on the one side being the improvement,
and The other side the exclusive use for limited
time and the public are always ready to make such
contract whenever the improvement is given to them !;
and matters not how long The paenee may have had it
himself Therefore, II these improvements in the
contract, they may be patented at the Patent Office for
$50, and all uouble saved So far patening these i'm
provements is concerned this bill makes Congress TO act
in the place of the Patent Office. We called
grant patent for invention yet patented All
that Congress ought TO do is TO make general laws
der which all persons may apply for patent and that
has been DONE and it does not become us, having thus
established the Patent Office court its functions
The Patent Office is the place to patent these improve
ments in, and we have jurisdiction the question
IL seems 10 me TO be Just the Of private suilor,
coming into Congress, and asking for the passage of
act 10 enable him TO collect debt which he is
due him IRON certain persons, when the courts open
to him, and ample remedy provided there by general
laws OF course Congress would send such claimant
to the courts; and can difference between the
cases. There precedent that know OF, for grant
ing an original patent by Congress since The establish
doubt not shall have abundance OF business and every
one whose claim is too weak TO endure the scrutiny OF
The Patent Office will have bill introduced for granting
+,
have thus clearly established that the provision must
operate TO deprive the public OF rights which abso
utely vested IN them, or that the claimants entitled
TO have patent granted 10 them by the Patent Office for
the improvements invented by them In either case this
provision ought not TO be enacted. presume there no
one who desires establish the monopoles of the
enteenh century, convert the Senate into Patent
Office 10 hear and decide original applications for letters
patent and must do one or the other, If pass
this bill as il is now drawn. There is another obec-
lionable provision of the bill is proposed extend
this patent for the embraced in the model
drawings and specifications, connected with letters pate
+, &c Now, there is model connected with letters.
patent. model is deposited when the patent issues not
as part OF the patent but exemphcaton Of the thing
patented In almost all cases, the model contains much
more than the invention, and nothing appears on the
model TO distinguish the patented features from the
others. steam-engine model is deposited, to show
valve a wagon, to show axle, sc. The drawings
and specifications the legal evidence of what the
patent claims; and what is in them is not in the
patent In this the model burned up in the fire
of 1896 and the word here is undoubtedly TO introduce
another model made since, 10 help out the patent which
was issued in particular in which is insufficient
give the paentees what they want the patent does
not describe the invention, and il should be extended
may be surrendered under the thirteenth section Of the
act Of 1885, and corrected The Commissioner of Patents
will then hear what the patentees say the subject
and if the model throw light the question, it
be used evidence This is not the place to decide
whether extended patent ought TO contain less
than the original competent tribunal is instituted to
make such decision TO which the patenlee must appeal
To meet these views OF the law proposed the amend
which has already been before the Senate Its OBJ
lect simply require that patent shall be issued by