The Petroleum Centre daily record. [volume] (Petroleum Center, Pa.) 1868-1873, 1870-05-30
ROBERTS PETROLEUM TORPEDO.

ROBERTS PETROLEUM. TORPEDO.
|TORPEDOES.
THE ROBERTS
PETROLEUM TORPEDO co.
Office at the
kED PLANNING MILL.
iCorncr OF Pine and second streets,
,(Near the Wntiroad,)
ITUsvILLE, Pa.
Owing to the large and increasing demand for the
Roberts Torpedoes, and the late decision OF the
Commissioner Of Patents In refu sing to VIM. Rec d
patent and the dncisi IN Of Judge Il. & Grer sus
tanning the Robsrts patcat they have LOWERED
the price Of their Torpedoes
TWENTY PER CENT.
20 that every Operator can afordto try a Torpedo
before abandoning Well.
Tho following is the decision rendered by Judge
Grier on the twenty second (22l day of September
1855 in the United States Circuit Court at Philade
phia. The case WAS argued three days by Charles
II. Keller of New York y Lucs. and :. A. Pur-.
fiance OF Pittsburgh, for deHndants, and George
Harding of Philadelphia and George H. Chrisiy,o
Pittsburgh, for plaintiff
OPINION OF JUDGE GR1EE.
AsI write with difficulty can only state the con
clr.ions TO which my mind has come afer careu
examination OF this case.
The com liam mt has exhibited patent dated
35th Of April lS65. This ia prima facie evidence of
good title, aud puts on the respondents the bur-
den OF Jro>r shat the patent ia void or worthless.
need not repeat NV iemarkS in the case of Good
year vs. Day q wall, G. c. Rep; 22a) but now
adopt them as affordins rule OF decision which ap
plies Clearly to the present case.
A TIE Infringement of the patent is admit ted,
the only question will be ns to the validity OF COM
plaii,wns patent OF April q, 1858.
1T was after speculation had been reduced to
prac;ce aud after repeated experiments, that the
complainant succeeded in overcoming he prejudice
and ignorance of the people on the subject, and
ter he had established its great utility snd value,
and "Ghen HE gen'u. and patient perseverance, in
epte OF snCers and scofis," were completely sue.
cessful, ttst Reed who had before made expert
meats on the same subject, and ~as unsuccessful,
inasired that he had the best right to the invention,
sud after purchasing one of more Conplsinants tor
pedoeS he applied on the list of November, 1851,
for ti;ent for substantially the same cOmhina.
tUns OF devices and "a. hina ntaned In complain
ants patent. On the 10th OF the same month the
respondents formed themselves into company or
corporation called 'The Reed Torpedo Company
for the purpose of pirating the compainan,'s in
vention, aud supporting tho expense or litigation,
ard thus defraud him Of the fruits. They have pei.
properly granted by the District Judge.
Let decree he entered for complainant for per
petual injunction and Master. appointed TO take
an account according to the prayer Of the bill.
K. c. GRIER, Judge.
NorE.-The passage referred to b. Judge Grier in
his former decision, Wallace. p. 800 adopted a.
applicable to this case was M follows:
'lt is usually the Case, when anyvallable discov
cry is made, any machine of great ui ity il
invented. tat the attention of the public ha. been
turned TO that subject previously, and that mary
persons have been making researches ard expert.
| ments. Philosophers and nlechanicians may have
IN some measure anticipated in their spscuations
the possibility probability of such discovery or
nveitiOu many experiments have been successful
" tried coming very Rear. yet falling short of the
desired result They have produced nothing bcne-
| fetal. The invention whev perfected may truly be
| sid to be the eliminating point of MANY expert
men g, not only by the inventor. but by many 9TH
Ors. tie may have proiited indirectly bv the unSuc-
cessful experiments and failures of others. but it
gives them no right to ca m share oil the honor of
| the profit of the successful inventor 1t il when
specu alton has been reduced to practice. when ex
pertinent ha- resulted in discovery and when that
discovery has been perfected by patient ana contn-
ued experiments, when some new compound. art.
manu- Glctule, or machine has been thu. produced
which ], useful to the public that the party making it
becomes apublc beneiactor and entitled to patent
"Aud yet when genius and patient perseverance
have at length succeeded, in spiie of sn era and
SCOTS, come valuable invention or discovery, how
seldom is il followed by reward Envy Iobs him
Of the honor, While spcculat0rs, swndeis. and p-
rates rob him of the profits Every unsuccessful
ex,jerimenler who did Or did or did rot come very
near making a discovery claims it. Every one
VINO niuvsnt an Improvement or vary its form,
claims right to pirate the original discovery We
need not summons Morse, or Blanchard, or Wood
worth to prove that this is the usual history of
ry great discovery or invention.
"rhe present case ADDS another chapter to this
long and uniform history.'-2 Wallace, c. Z. Re-
ports p. 2S2.