The Petroleum Centre daily record. [volume] (Petroleum Center, Pa.) 1868-1873, 1870-07-29


TORPEDOES.
THE ROBERTS
PETROLEUM TORPEDO co.
Office at the
RED pLANING MILL.
Corner of Pine and second streets,
.A. .(Nsar the RaiirOad,)
ITUsvILLE, PA.
Owing 10 the large and increasing demand for thc
ROberts' TorpedOes, and the late decision of the
patent and the decision OF Judge r. G Grier su :.
mining the Roberts pltent they have LOW ERE D
he price of their Torpedoes
TWENTY PER CENT.
60 that every Operator can afford 10 try Torredo
before abandoning q Well.
The following is the decision rendered by .Irdce
@ on tue twenty.second (22) day Of September
ico's Ill the Emitted State Circuit Court az PhladeI
phia The case was argued three days by Charles
II. Keller of New York, b. Y. Lucas and s. 4. Pnrs
VANCE of Pittsburgh, for defendants. and Geor~e,
Nardins Of Philadelphia, and George Ii. Christy' o
AN'ssuieh5 AoA Pi"'heh-
OPINION OF JUDGE GRIERI
As I write with difficulty can only state TIE 20,
s9Raions TO which my mind has come after caresr
examination Of this case. |
The complainant has exhibited patent dated
9th of April 1865 This is prinm flcie evidence ~
al good title, and puts on the respondents the b,r
den Of proof that the patent is void or worthless
neei not repeat my y remarks in the case of Good
adopt them as affordng a rule OF decision which an
plies clearly to the present case.
As the infringement of the patent s admi, ted
the only question will be as to the validity of com
plainan's patent of April 2j, 1888
III was after speculation had been reduced TO
pfslcice," aud after repeated experiments that the
and ignorance of the people on ths subject, and
persuading the public that his invention was usefuE
Aftar he had established its great utility and yane
~ when MS genus anc patient perseverance, In
eessfnl, that Reed, who had before made eyperi.
Inens on the same stlhiect, and was unsucce, slI
imagined that he had the best right totheinyc cnon,
and after purchasing one oi more complainant d.. tor
pedoes. he applied on the 1st of November 1857
for patent fo' substantially the same comhina,
tiUns Of devices and aCline contained in comnnin
ants patent. On the 18th of the same month th,
respondents formed them selves into company or
corporation called ''rhe Reed Torpedo Coinpanv,''
ior !he purpose OF plratins the colnplanani,s in
vention and supporting the expense of litigation.
and thus deftaud hH,.of the fruits. They have per
severed even after the preliminary injunction very
properly granted by the District Judge
Let u dscree be entered for complainant for n npr-
reiral injunction. and a Master appointed 10 fake
All account according to the prayer Of the bill
T. c. GltiER, Judge.
NoTE.-The passage referred to by Judge Crier in
bis former decision, ) Wallace, p. 2g9 adopted as
applicable to this was follows:
At il usually the case wheli any valuable di.cov.
cry Is Sade or any new machiue of great utility Il
Invented, that thcatteniion of the public has been
Nlrncd to that subject previously and that many
persons have been making resrarche. and eypsri.
nenfa. Philosophers anu nleclllncians NAV have
n some measure anticipated in their SD .criations
the possibility or probability of such discovery or
ln'cntion many experiments have bPe successful
" tried coming very near. yet falling short Of tie
desired result. They have produced nothing benn-
hr,al. The invention whei perfected may truly be
ssid to be the eliminating point OF many expert
mon g not only by the inventor, but by many oth.
.rs. ie may have proti,ed indirectly bv the ilnsuc
eeSsiui experiments and failures of Others but ii
gives item no right TO Cam share of the hcnpr of
the profit of the successful inventor 1t il when
speculation has been reduced to practice, when cx-
pertinent Ia resulted IN discovery and when that
aicovcry has been perfected by patient ana contin
Hed experiments when some new compound art
manuuctIlie u. ar machine has been thus produced
which is useful to the pbc that the party making il
boromes public ben Factor and entitled to patent.
"Aud yet when genius and patient perseverance,
have at length succeeded, in stite or sn-ers and
rcoftS, some valuable invention or disco"cry how
seldom is il followed by reward Envy robs him
"f tie honor wii'Ie speculatOrs, swnde ), and ri
IItes rob him of the profits. Every un-nccessiul
oEIycrimenter who did or did or did not come ycry
near making discovery now claims il. Every on,
who can Invent al Improvement or vary its form
'vi'ns right % pirate the ORIGINAL discovery. We
need not summons Morse, or IianChard or Wood
worth prove that tii is the usual history of eve
ry great discovery or Invention.
'l'he present case ADDS another chapter to this
t'nf and uniform history Wallace, c. Z. Re.
potts p. 2S2.