Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-12-10

In the decision Of the suit of the GOrham man
ufacturing company VS.. White, the supreme
court of the United States has rendered signal
and important service to the progress of the
tine arts, BY the statute of 1912, congress au-
thorized the commissioner to grant letters pa
tent to those "whose industry, genius, efforts,
and expense" should produce new designs for
printing statues, has relieves; in short, for all
forms of orDa;nentation. 1t was the intent OF
this act that the art OF decoration should enjoy
the fostering care and protection which has
conferred such conspicuous benefits upon the
American inventions in the mechanic arts; and
in constructing this law in such manner as to
give practical protection to the designer, the
court has, doubtless, lent a valuable impulse TO
the artistic culture of the country,
Although passed twenty years ago, this act
has remained almost wholly dead letter. Very
few suits were brought under it at the circuit,
and, until the present, none have been carried
to the supreme court.
The result has been that infringemGnts of de-
sign patents have become almost universal. No
sooner did pattern, devised and introduced at
great expense, become popular in the market,
than it was copied by other manufacturers, who
thus, without risk, and almost without loss of
business considerations, enjoyed the fruits of
the genius and enterprise OF others. This be.
came at last a serious evil, which seemed TO
threaten the very existence OF American design,
for no one could afford to employ a corps of
artists, and incur the cost of bringing new goods
the market if his in the result
was open to be shared by all the world.
This was the state of The business which tba
Gorham manufacturing comDany undertook tn
remedy. They were. as every one knows. fore
most among American siver-smiths for the
beauty and novelty of their goods. Undismaved
by the growing practice Of infringement which
disoraced the trade. they kent a LARGE corns of
artists in their employ, whose business il was TO
devise new and beautiful forms aud decorations
These were, as a general rule, copied by others.
and the Gorham company resolved TO see wheth-
er the law which had promised them protection
was adequate TO furnish them relief AGAINST this
great and serious mischief They have carried
on this GOOD light for art and their rights Tor
six wears, uuaided save by the moral support
of the trade, and the decision of the supreme
court has at last crowned their courage and en-
durynce with brilliant trumph They selected
as the ground on which to make their fight, the
patent for the design OF the welI-known cottage
pattern of spoons and forks. The inll1noers
called their goods the gothic pattern, and had,
also, a patent, but the Gorham company charg-
ed that this was an evident copy of their design
varied only for the purpose Of escaping the law
1t was an additional grievance in tuis case that
the cottage goods were in silver, while the imi.
tatiOn was in base metal
They proved, by nearly all the leading silver
smiths Of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, aud
the west, that the defendants goods were so
nearly like the plaintilf, that ordinary nurrhas-
ers would mistake the one for the other they
further showed the great value of their design
which was pronounced by an eminent dealer the
best plan pattern he had ever seen, and which
was estimated by another leading silversmith to
be, in his Judgment worth $50 600 at least. And
they called witnesses in the trade who narrated
occasions when they had actually mistaken one
pattern for the other
None OF these facts were denied by the de-
PENDANTS, who rested their case solely upon the
fact, not eontroYerted by the Gorham company