The Plymouth Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1869-1941, 1869-10-21
PATENTS.

THE following are the remarks of Hon.
s $ Fisher, Commissioner of Patents,
made recently at the fair of the American
Institute, in New York, upon the patent
system:
1t has occurred to me, that, standing
here tonight as the official representative
of this system, it would not he inappro-
pirate for me to say a few words in its be-
half In the first place no comparison can
properly be made between our system
and that of other countries. In England
and on the Continent all applications are
patented without examination into the
novelty of the inventions claimed. In
some Instances the instrument is scanned
tO-aSccrtain if il covers n patentablc sub
ectmatter, and, in Prussia, some slight
examination is made into the character of
the new idea but in no case are such APP
pliances provided, such corps of skilled
examiners, such provision of drawings,
models, and books, such collection OF
foreign patents, and such checks to pre-
vent and review error as with us. AS
result, an American patent has, in our
courts, a value that no foreign patent can
ACQUIRE in the courts of it's own country.
This has rendered property in foreign
patents exceedingly precarious. Such as
are granted have not been subjected to eX-
animation; they have no primo t;tcie
weight. Yet they may be valid. 1t is true
that no one knows this, not even the in
ventor but the possibility that they may
prove so makes them weapons in the
hands Of INSCRIPTIONS men to brighten
and coerce manufacturers who have very
imperfect means, short OF litigation, OF ar
irving at the truth or falseh0od of the
&c vi i an innc nf no
On the other hand, the inventor is in as
much doubt as the manufacturer He does
not know what TO claim as his invention.
As he alone is TO fix the limit, as there is
to be no revision, he may claim much or
little, how much or how little he must al
ways doubt. As consequence, foreign
patents are of doubtful value, and the
whole system has fallen into some disre-
pute.
| suppose that the foreign patents of
American inventors, that have been copies
of patents previously granted in this coun-
try, are the best that are granted abroad,
and | know that many an English or
French invention that has been patented
without difficulty there, has been stopped
| in its passage thr ugh our office by a refer
ence to some patent previously granted
| in this country, or perhaps in the very
| country of its origin. In spite of our cX
animation, which rejects over one third of
| all the applications that are made, or, more
| properly because of it, invention has been
stimulated by the hope of protection :;
and nearly as many patents will issue in
the United States this year as in the whole
of Europe put together, including the
British isles But few days ago took
mp volume of Italian patents to see what
progress the new Kingdom was making in
invention, when | was amused and graft
fed to find on every page the name of the
universal Yankee, re-patenting there his
American invention, and, | suspect, much
the best customer in the Patent Office of
united Italy. The truth is, we are an in
ventiYe people.
Invention is by no means confined to
our mechanics. Our merchants invent,
our soldiers and our sailors invent,
our schoolmastcrs invent, our pro-
fessional men invent, aye, and our
women and our children invent. Cheap
protection has been n fertilizer that has
produced much growth of brain and much
fruit of discovery. One man lstely wished
to patent the application of the Lords
Prayer, repeated in a loud voice, to pre-
vent stammering; another claimed the
new and useful attachment of weight
or other article possessing gravity, To &
cow 5 tail To prevent her from switching il
While milking; another proposed to cure
worms by extracting them by a delicate
line and tiny hook bated with a seductive
pill; while lady patented q crimpine
! pin, which she declared might also be used
as paper cutter, as Il skirt supporter, as
a paper file, as a child's pin, as bouquet
holder, q shawl fastener or as book
mark. Do not suppose that this is thu
! highest flight which the gcntlcr sex ha
achieved. 1t has obtained many othe
patents, some of which have no relation
to wearing apparel, and are Of cOnsidera
bic value.
But am asked, what proportion Of al
patented inventions prove to be valuable
to their projectors or to the public One
tenth? Probably not much more thar
that; but, let ii be remembered, there ar,
! few failures so harmless as that of Il use
less invention. The patent gives it
chance TO prove itself worthy of the pub
: lie patronage. 1t simply declares that i
it be good it shall not be stolen; but, if i
be useless, nobody Will want to steal it
But OF all those who enter upon any occu
; patton OF life, how many succeed and how
many fail? How many young men hav,
entered the bar, and have failed to tax,
rank with kvarts OConnOr or Brady
! How many have launched their bark ladeI
WITH mercantile ventures, and have beer
stranded, while Claflin and Stewart wer,
sailing into port How many have beer
moved TO "start paper" who have liveC
r as long, but not to as much purpose, a
Raymond, Bennett, or Greeley? | sup
pose that nine failures to one success is
very fair proportion for the professions O
the world, including that of the inventor
or, at all events, do not suppose the fail
ures among inventors are more numerOu
than among every other class of working
men. AS To property in inventions,
shall not stop to discuss it. That ma
/. having, by long eXpcriment-by patien
+ | thought-by brilliant gcnius-by the ca
pcnditure of time and of means, conceive
c and brought to perfection and embodimcr
i some new idea, having created some neN
! substance, put iii motion some new ms
: chine, put some old force to new work, @
+ | given 10 some new force field for labO
q is not entitled t. call this which he LA
|. done his own and 70 set his price upon i
e need not, think, be argued before homes
II men? If we owe nothing to the me
]. who have made this century SO illustriou
> by their great conceptions, then we Ow
4 nothing to anybody, and repudiatio
% ought to be the watchword Of the age
!, We-do owe them much, not merely
II debt of sentimental gratitude, but a del
i payable in cash, which shall lift thci
/ above want, and place them upon such
If pinnacle of happiness that the world sha
s. say, "Thus shall it be done unto the ma
r whom the nation delighted to honor
II How shall we give pecuniary considerable
: for inventions. There are two ways
70 which this might DC done. One is by TIL
: purchase, for cash, by the Government {
q all inventions for the use of the nation
Il This plan is met at the outset by the in
q possibility ofdetcrmining the value Ever
J. inventor supposcs himself to have fO
, tune in every conception that he puts int
" wood and iron. Stealing trembling an