The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1853-01-06

oehdiv Inc proposition now ts 10 postpone. One
hird part OF the session has passed by, and shall
soon have the appropriation bills upoa This is one
oi hose cases where Can act dehnliively Ii we
agree vii the House there IA end ot Ii.
Ihere are different modes pI defeating a measure, AS
every -ehato well knows. First. amendment be
moved TO a. and thus il will be back House o
Representatives, where The amendment may BE- acted
upon. The answer that has well been made by the
asor from Norlh Carolina The second method ot de-
feaiing asneasnre--and il not so intended ia
TINS Instance lis by poslpoping il from day 10 day and
thus may be defeated etecua'y by sending back
TO the House When the question ~, before.
motion was made 10 postpone H. and took precisely the
view OF II lhen look upon this one of those
Cases where act and finally, and in my juds-
ment we are bound, III justice TO the petitioner, 10 act
Whatever may be our decision let us settle this question
do tink, while would go lar any senator here 10
accommodate individual senators no may feel interest
IN matters before tina, it to these parties, we
owe TO the Senate and we owe TO all other persons
IN greaier degree 10 act than 10 pesroDe hope there
fore, the bill will mol be postponed.
Mr.. BAYARD. The objection which have to make
10 this bill in its present iorn. do not think has been
acy presented yet cannot for the bill stands.
and shall state the reasons as briefly as The diff
culty have in reference to the structure OF the bll
and the merit OF the patent does into it at all
The inventor may be perfectly merorious the party may
be entitled TO an extension But the difficulty arises out
of the vicious system OF special Legislation in reference to
patents, instead OF passing general laws TO apply to whole
classes OF leaving the administrative duty the de-
partment to determine what particular properly
under the law My objection to this bill in its present
form is this: il is retrospective in action The law
provides that from the year 1850 the full and exclusive
right and liberty OF making constructing, using, and
vending TO Others TO be made used" certain machines
which had been previously patented, with these improve
ments shall be extended for ID years II patent is is
sued under that law beyond all question those persons
who have made machines OF that character since 1850,
and previous to The passage OF this law will be liable TO
action instituted by The pa,enlee for the recovery of dam
ages for doing that which the time ofts being done
perfectly legal in itself The right Of the paenee ex
pired in 1850 After that date the right TO make these
chimes is common to every citizen OF the United States,
until you pass law extending the patent right II you
make law retrospective the effect is that author
lie the paientee you have provision TO guard against
it. and there IS none in this bill-as he obtains
the patent to bring action for the recovery OF damages
against those who may have made these machines be-
tween $780, used them 1t would be perfectly legal
claim if they were TO bring such suit. cannot
tain such principle Of legislation vote against
the bull, unless II is amended in that respect.
Mr.. WALKER. had my attention directed to the
question OF the renewal OF this patent year or two
ago. and shortly afterwards turned my attention 10
with degree of care. When this bill was reported
also examined H. entered upon the investigation of
the subject with feeling in favor of the renewal OF the
patent | have undergone no change in my feelings
since but, sir, when come TO look at what it is pro-
posed TO do by the legislation before must say
that am opposed to it irreconcaby. believe il may
be safely said that there before was such promo
sion before Congress- before any other legislative
body in the world Is this bill merely extending the
patent OF Moore and Hascall' Not all In my opin-
ion, formed after examination OF the bill in connexion
with the patent law. the effect of this bill will be give
Moore and llascal monopoly of everything that has
been constructed, discovered invented the OF
improvement, since the date oil their original patent.
Why sir, what is il! After stating that their patent is
renewed, they given The full and exclusive right
and liberty OF making, constructing, using, and vending
others be made used the improvements for cut
ting, ihreshng, or cleaning grain, which invented
by The said Moore aud Hascail, either OF them, and
embraced IN the model, drawings, specihcatons"et
this phraseology be borne in mind connected with let
ers patent granted to them the 2slh day of june 1885,
tor machine commonly known as Moore and Has
calls harvesting machines, together with the improve
ments invented by them, either of them, pertectng
said machine any part thereof, from the date Of their
original patent 10 the day IRON which the same is here.
I by rene wed and extended y
There several things which strike looking into
the mater as somewhat peculiar There were at least
fourteen Years within which these gentlemen could make
their experiments every harvesting Before the
fourteen years had expired, The patent law gave them
right which they would have been permitted to
cise--lhe right 10 surrender their patent, and by new
clam and specification, embracing claims for other i'm
rovemenis up to the time they surrendered 10 take out
patent for The improved machine. We all know thai
is allowed under the patent law. Blu, do we see any
tang OF that kind in bl indicating that they ever
popo sed 10 he Patent Ohce 10 get renewal or exen-
OF their pale that they ever proposed 10 suren
der their patent and to take gu, patent Tor their I'M
povemeDts Not al all They did nothing OF the kind.
They never applied to the Patent Office.
Mr. CASS. VIII The senator allow me to state the
facll Il is simply this Mr.. Moore here in am
pie time, and had il no, been his decided impression that
bis bill would pass he would have gone to the Patent
Office and would have taken patent for years.
But he was Mistaken aud when his bill failed, u was
too late Obtain The extension from the Patent Office.
| Mr.. WALKER The fact remains that he did not
make application Tor the extension oil his patent. But
my observations are now being applied more 10 the i'm
povements upon the machine than TO the exlen.
Why did not these parles avail themselves Of the
law OF surrender IN patent cases, and obtain patent
for the improved machine, as they might do under the
law
/ Mr. CASS. Simply for the reason before stated, that
they considered seven years entirely too small time for
such machines and they came TO Congress and
asked Congress 10 extend the patent Tor fourteen years
That is the reason.
| Mr. WALKER. That may be the reason why he
wanted fourteen years instead of but 1t does
answer the objection have made. that he did not avail
himself OF the law OF surrender for if he had surren
dered his patent 10 obtain patent for the improved ma
and il they had refused his application the Palen, Of
fee, he could then have here and asked Congress
to extend his patent But be does not propose 10 the
Patent Office that they shall look into these improve
ments. He does propose submit this matter to the
ordeal OF the investigation OF the examiners OF The Patent
Office. He has attempted 10 have il examined
there TO whether these alleged Improvements were
really his or belonged TO somebody else.
was little surprised TO hear the senator from Mchi-
gan make the remark that OF the most important In
venions connected with Moore and Hascars machine is
the SICKLE which clearly invented by them Is not
that senator that in a in the State OF New
York. in which Moore and Hasca themselves
witnesses, a decision made against them with re-
gard TO that very invenuonl Ii certainly But
these alleged improvements have been submitted to
the ordeal of the examination OF the Patent Oce They
are brought up here for The first time and in gem
era terms il proposed not only to renew the patent,
bot to give him the exclusive right to make. vend
TO others 10 be made used, not only the patented
chine but the improvements which he has made upon the
from the date of the original patent TO the time al
which this shall place.