The Petroleum Centre daily record. [volume] (Petroleum Center, Pa.) 1868-1873, 1870-12-19
aOBEKTs' PETROLEUM TORPEDO.


EORP EDOES.
TINE ROBERTS
PE7R0LEuM TORPEDO co.
Office at the
Ran pLANING MILL,
Ct1rAacr OF pine and GcoonI Ssyccfs,
Near tho Raiirond,)
TITUSVILLR,, Pa.
0wtns " the lar:c a,d increasing de<uaad for the
hcberts' Tcrpeioe., and the late decision OF the
Commissioner Of Patents IA Refusing to VIM. Reed
Patent and the decision o! Judge Il. { Giier sns.
tainiI@. the RobsrtA' patcnt they nave Low ENED
;hV prev VI their Torledots
TWENTY. PER CENT.
20 That overv Operator can aifori " try Torpedo
before Abandoning Well.
The following is the decision rendered by Jn,re
Grcr On the twentysecond i2!) day of September,
iS'p, in the United States Circuit Court at Puadel
phiA. The case was argued three days by Charles
Al: Keller Of New fors, H. r. Lucas and $: a. Pur.
vtance of pittshureh, for defendants, and George
Harding Of PhadeIphia anI George II. Chris,y, VI
Fi'seurgh, for plaintiff.
OPINION OF JUDGE GREER
As write With difficulty can only state .he con
(isions to which my mind has come after a car.,u.
sxawipaton Of this case. /
lnu c,:nl, l,lu,uaut has exhibited patent dated
th Of April. iSi5 This Is prna fac!. q, ideuce of
good title, aud puts on the respondents the bur.
dsn OF prc"! that the patent is void worthless.
need not repeat my remarks the case Of Good.
year W.. Day l2 WALL C. G. Kep; 2.y,) bat now
adopt them as aiiording rule o. decision wi ich ap.
plies clearly To the present case.
As the intriisement OF the patent is almh ted,
~ m lestu " to a. t,t
>pIa!nans patent Of April rs, 1865.
''lt WA, after speculation had been reduced to
practice" aud after repeated experiments. that the
complainant succeeded in overcoming he preiudice
and ignorance of the people ON the subject And
persaading the public that his invention was userl:
after he had established its great utility and yalue
aoa when hls genius and patient perseverance, in
sessfnl, that Reed, who had before made expert.
inene on tne same sun1ect, and WAS unsuccessful,
imagined that he had the best right to the invention
And after purchasing one oc more complainant, tor
pedoe5. he applied On the ist OF November 1871
for patent for substantially tho same comLiDn
lions of devices and machine contained in complain.
Ait's patent. On the 18th OF the same month the
respondents formed themselves into u company or
corporation called ''rhe Reed Torpedo Conunny. y
For the purpose Of piratiny the complainants in.
ventlon, aud supporting the expense ut litigation
ard thus deiraud hin, vi the fruits They have ne,
severed even after the pre- iminary injunction v.r,
properly granted by the District J;,Cge.
Let oscree ne entered for complainant for per.
ALI account according to the prayer of the bill
H. &. Glil Ex, Judge.
NorE.-The passage referred to bv Judge Gricr in
bis former decis'On, Wallace, 3. 200 ,stop;ed as
app icaoie tO this case was as tuIiuws:
ut is Usually the caSc, when any valuable discnv.
cry Is Tadc, or any new machine Of great mi y l.
invented, iEat tine tenfion Of toe pubic In. be,,
turned to That subject previously, and that frn v
perrons nave been iirlkin.: cncS and exp.,
nieutS. IN lusophe rs anu niecnuici,r,, mnv i,v,
IL ROlNe measure.
shc possibility or probability ot sneh discovery a,
invention; many experiments inve beer, suctpsssi,,
~ ii!cd coming very near. yet Eiinr short vi the
desired result Illiy have prulised nothing bcne.
fcial. The invention wlie pereci,. III NAV truly be
aid TO be the eliminating point o, MANY eyi,eri.
non =, net only ny the inventor. but by many 9TH.
erS. tie may nave proted ind,resly ly Nv the ln.,c.
cs-sful experiments and failures of others. but i,
gives them no rlght to claim share of the nc nor OF
the prohr OF the successful inveator II il whc,,
speculation has been reduced 70 practice. when ex.
pertinent has resulted In discover; auu When TIM,
discovery hi' been perfected ny patient auu cOn,in
ued experiments wnen some new compound art,
manufacture or machine has fen thus produced
which Is useful to the public that the party making I,
becomes apubc brnetactor ani icnttlec To a "a, ellt
"And YET wien genius and patti ut perseverance,
have N length succeeded, in s;ie of sn.ers and
scoffs, some vrnable invention or Csco-ery how
seldom Is it followed by reward Envy rob. him
ei the n"nor, Whine spectators, swlndiefs. and p
rates rob him OF the profits. Every lun,ucces stul
experinienier who did or did or did not come yer,
| near making discovery claims it, Every O,,s
VINO can invent an Improvement or vary its iorn
claims right to Liraie The original discovery W.
need not summons Horse, Or Blanchard, or Wood
worth to prove that this is the usual history of eve
~ grra, discovery or invent ION.
"Ihe present c'.se Aod- another chaDtcr to this
long anu uniform history 80 Wallacy. G. q. He
ports p 2J!.