The Petroleum Centre daily record. [volume] (Petroleum Center, Pa.) 1868-1873, 1872-02-12
- - q OPINION IoT:JUDGEseR1ER ,EN


As write with difficulty can only state the con
clusions TO which my mind has come after u careful.
examination of this case.
The complainant has exhibited a patent dated
25th of April, lsG5 This is prma iacie evidence Oh
a good title, and puts on the respondents the bur
den of proof that the patent is void or worthless.
need not repeat my remarks in the case of Good.
year VS.. Day u Wall, G. c. Rep; 229,) but now
adopt them as aordng rule OF decision which ap-
plies clearly to the present case.
AS the infringement of the patent is admitted
the only question will be as to the validity OF com
plainaiils patent f April %, 1858.
ii was after ,pe iulation had been reduced to
practice and afl,i repeated experiments. that tn
complainant succeeded in over coming the prejudice
and ignoIance of the people on the subject, and
peisuading the public thai his invention was ustlu
aft-r he mad established its great utility and yalne
and when his genius and patient perseverance, i'll
spite sneers md scOn-, were completely sue
ce- sful, that Reed who had before mHde expert
ments on he same subject, and was unsuc esu,
and after burcha-ing one or more compainauts tor
pedoes, he applied on the lst of November, lSG,,
Tor pateItior substantially the same conibina-
tons Of devic,s and machine contained in complain,
ants patent; On the 10Th of the same month the
respondents formed thense Ives into company ur
cor Grafton called ''lhe Reed Torpedo COMPANY,
for the purpose of piating the complainant 5 in
vention, and supporting the eXpensee Ol lit Cation,
and tnus dciraud him of the fruits They have per
served even after the premary injunction very
properly granted by tie l,istrict Judge:
Let degree be enterod for CONF lainart for per
petual injun ction; and Master, alpointe to take
al account accoi dinsy TO the payer of the.bl.
Il. &. GIuEk, JudgS.
NorE-The pc ssage referred to by Judge Grier in
his former decis' 'On, Wallace, p. 900 adopted as
applicable TO this case was as follows:
sit is usually the case, when any valuable discov
cry is made, or any new machine of great utility s
invented, that the attention of the public has beer
turned to that subject previously, and that mahr
persons have been making researches and expert
ments. PHILOSOPHERS ana mechanicians may have
IN some measure anticipated in their specuations
:he possibility Or probability Of such discovery or
invention; many experiments have been successful
y tiled, coming very near. yet falling short OF the
desired result. They have produced nothing bene-
fcai The invention when perfected may truly @
sad to be the eliminating point OF many expert
m N =, not only by the inventor. but by many 9th
o-s lie may hay. prOtlted indirectly by the lnsuc-
cessfnl experiments and failures of Others, but II
gives them right to clam a share OF the hcnr OF
the profit of the successful inventor II is when
speculation has been reduced IA practice when ex-
pertinent has resulted in discovery, and when mat
discovery has been perfected by p-tient ana con'i-
ued experiments, when some new compound art
manufacture, or machine has been thus produced
which is useful to thepublic that the party akingt
becomes apublic benefactOr and entitledto patent
sand yet when genius and patient perseverance
have at length succeeded in spite of sneers and
scoF5, some valuable invention or tsco"efy, no"
seldom is II followed by reward ! Envy robs MN
Of the honor, while speculators, swindles, ana p,
rates rob him of the profits. Every unsuccessful
experimenter who nd or did or did not come very
near making q discovery now claims it. Every one
who can invent an improvement or vary Its lUrm
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 o eve
ry great discovery or invention .
"'The present case adls another chapter 10 tni3
long and uniform history."-2 Wallace,i e. Y he
ports p. ~