The Petroleum Centre daily record. [volume] (Petroleum Center, Pa.) 1868-1873, 1870-07-13
ROBERTS PETROLEUM TORPEDO.
TORPEDOES.
TINE ROBERTS
PETROLEUM TORPEDO co.
Office at the
RED PLANING MILL,
Corner Of Pine and second Streets,
AtNear the tkailrouG,)
ITUSVILLE, PA.

Owing to the large and increasing demand for the
Roberts Torpedocs, and the late decision of the
Commissioner of Patents in refusing to Wm. Reed
patent. and the decision of Judge r. { Glier
taiuing the Roberts patent they ihave LOWERED
the price Of their Torpedots
TWENTY PER CENT.
so that every Operator can atrord.,to try Torpedo
before abandoning Well.
lhe following is the decision rendered by JUDGE
Grier on the twenty-second (2ll day of Scrtember.
1863, in the United States Circuit Court at Phladel-
phia. The case was argued three DAYS bv Charles
NJ. Keller of New York, u. y. Lucas and s A. Pur.,
viance of Pittsburgh. for defendants and George
Harding of Philadelphia, and George IL. Chrisly, o
Pittsburgh, for plaintiff.
OPINION OF JUDGE GRIER
As write with difficulty can only state the con
clusions to which my mind has come after careu
examination of this case.
The complainant has exhibitei"a pateutrdated
25th of April. 1866. This is pr,ma acie evidence of
a good title. and puts the respondents the bur.
den of proof tha, the patent Is void Or worthless.
need not repeat my remarks in the case of Good
year Day u Wall, C. C. Rep; 229) but now
adopt them "a alording rule of decision W ch ap-
pics clearly to the present case.
As the infringement of the patent Is admit ted
the only question will be as to the validity of com.
painants patent of April p. 1S5S.
at was after speculation had been reduced to
practice" and after repeated experiments. that the
complainant succeeded in overcoming he prejudice
and ignorance of the people on the subject ard
after he had established its great utility and value
and "when his genius and patient perseverance, in
spite of sncers and scotf,, were completely sue
ces-ful, that Reed, who had before made eyper.
mcnts on the same srhiect and was unsuccessful
imagined that he had the best right to the invention
and after purchasing ono of more complainant : Tor
pedoes. he applied on the ist of November 1857,
for patent for substantially the same combina
tions of devices and achinc contained in complain
auts patent. On the 18th of the same month the
respondents formed them selvesfnto company or
taI rin. load
for the purpose of pirating the cOmplainants in
venton, and supporting the expense OF litigation,
and thus defraud him of the fruits They have PEI
severed, after the pre- iminary Injunction very
properly granted by the District Judge.
Let decree he entered for complainant for n per-
petual Injunction. ana Master appointed to take
an account according to the prayer Of the bill.
NorE-The passage referred to bv Judge Grier in
his former decis'cn Maacs P 2so adopted as
at is usually the case, when any valuable d,cov.
cry Is made, or any new machine of great utility il
invented that the attention of the public has been
turned to that subject previously, and that many
persons have been making researches and expert.
ments. Philosophers and mechanicians NAV have
III some measure anticipated in their specuatous
the possibility or probability of such discovery or
invention; many experiments have been successful
y tried, coming very yet falling short of the
| desired result They have produced nothing bcne-
| fetal The invention when perfected NAV truly he
|
men 3, not only by the inventor, hut by many 9TH
ors. lie may hav. proilted indirectly bv the lnsuc.
cessfu experiments and failures of o,her.. but it
| gives them right to claim share of the honor of
the profit of the successful inventor 1t is when
| speculation has been reduced TO practice when ey.
pertinent la. resulted in discovery. and when that
discovery has been perfected by patient ana contln
ued experiments, when some new compound art.
\ manufacture, machine has been thu. produced
which is useful to public, that the party making IL
becomes apublic beneiactor and entitled to pa ent
"Aud yet when genius and patient perseverance
have at length succeeded, in spite of sneers and
SCOTS, some valuable Invention or discovery, how
| seldom is il followed by reward Envy robs him
of the honor while Spectators, swind!e s. and pi.
rates rob him of the profits. Every unsuccessful
experimenter who did or did or did not come very
| near making discovery now claims it. Every ona
| who can Invent an Improvement or vary its form
claims right TO pirate the original discovery We
need not summons Morse, or Blanchard or Wood.
worth prove that this is the usual history of eve
| nv great discovery or invention.
"The present case aCds another chapter to this
long and uniform hstory."-2 Wallace, C. Z. Re.
ports p. 292