The Petroleum Centre daily record. [volume] (Petroleum Center, Pa.) 1868-1873, 1870-07-16
ROBERTS PETROLEUM TORPEDO.
TORPEDOES.
THE ROBERTS
PETROLEUM TORPEDO co.
Office at the
RED pLANING MILL.
= Corner of Pine ana second streets,
s(Ncar the isatirOaa,)
ITUSVILLE, PA.

Owing TO the large and Increasing demand for the
Roberts Torpeduos. and the late decision of the
Commissioner of Patents in refusing to VIM Reed
a patent and the decision Of judge q. & Grter sus
tainnr the Roberts patent they ;have LOW Erred
the price Of their TorpcdOts
TWENTY PER CENT.
SO that every Operator can AFFORD 10 try Torpedo
before abandoning Well.
The following ia the decision rendered by Judge
Grier on the twenty second (e2) day of Serterber.
1864, in the United States Circuit Court at PnaGo
phia The case was argued three days by Charles
NJ Keller of New York, B 4. Lucas and ). \. Pur.,
Vance of Pittsburgh, for defendants, and George
Harding of Philadelphia, and George IL. Chlisty, o
Pittsburgh, for plaintiff.
OPINION OF JUDGE GRIEE.
As write with difficulty can only state the con
cu.icns to which my mind has conc after careful.
examination of this case. |
The complainant has exhibited a. patent, detcd
25.h of April 1860 This Is prtma iaoie evidence oi
n good title, and puts on the respondents the bur
den of proof that the patent is void worthless.
neei not repeat my remarks in the Of Good
year Va. Day q Wall, c. c. Rep. 2.o) but now
adopt them as aifording rule oi decision which ap-
pies clearly TO the PRESENT case.
As the infringement of the patent is admit ted.
the only question will be rs to the validity OF com
plainan,s patent of April -, ISIS.
1T was after speculation had been reduced to
practice ard after repeated experiments, that this
complainant succeeded in uverconin. he preinCice
and ignorance of the people on the subject, and
after he had established its great utility and value
and "when his gen II, and patient perseverance, in
spite of sncers and scofs, were completely sue
cessfnl, that Reed, who had before made expert.
inen,s on the same suhect, and was unsuccessful,
imagined that he had the best i-ht to he invention
a. d after purchasing one OF more compiainauts
pedoes he applied on the ist of November, 1851
for patent for substantially the same comhina
lions of devices and acne contained in complain
ants patent. On the 18th of the same month the
respondents formed themselves into company or
ilpt.. ..'T Re-
for the purpose of pirating the coInplainauis in
venton, and supporting the expense of litigation,
and thus defraud hn Of the fruits. They have PEI.
severed, after the pre- inlinary Injunction very
properly granted by the District Judge.
Let decree be entered for complainant for per
petual Injunction. and n Master appointed TO take
il. c. GRIER, Judge
NorE-The passage referred to bv Judge Gricr in
his former decision Wallace. p 299 adopted as
apDiiCabfe to this cas-. was rs follows
at Is usually the case. when any valuable discov-
cry Is made, any new machine Of great ui i,y Is
invented, that thcatention OF the public has been
turned to that subject previously, and that many
persons have been making researches and expert.
menIs Philosophers aud mech1nicians NAV have
III some measure anticipated in their specuationa
the possibility probability of such discovery or
invention; many experiments haye been successful
ly uied, coming very near. yet falling short OF the
Gesired result. They have produced nothing bene-
fetal Tn. Invention wher perfected may truly be
mon :, net only by the inventor. hut ty many 9TH
ors lie may hav. pfotted indirectly by the iinsuc.
cess!ul experiments and failures of other but il
gives thcn right To cla m share of the honor of
the profit Of the successful inventor II il when
speculation has been reduced to practice when ey-
pertinent ha. resulted in discovery and when that
discovery has been perfected by patient ana contin.
ued experim ,nts, when some new compound art.
manufacture, or machine has been thus produced
which is useful to hepublic that the party making il
beaomes apublic benefactOr and entitled to patent
md yatW |, n auci
have at length succeeded, in s..ie of sneers and
SCOTS. some valuable invention or dsco~ery, how
| seldom is il followed by reward Envy rob, him
Of the honor whiie speculators, swrdlc :. and pi-
rates rob him of the profits. Every unsuccessiul
exterimen,er who did or did or did not come very
| near making discovery claims it. Every ona
vino can Invent an Improvement or vary its form,
claims right To pirate the original discovery We
| need not summons Morse. or Blanchard. or Wood
wor, prove that This is the usual history of eve
| ry ,1-uL discovery or invention.
"'t',ie present aGds another chapter to thi.
lous anu uniform history - W a.lace, c. Z. Re
ports y. 292.