The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1872-12-11
An Important Decision Relating 10
the Future Of the Fine Arts.

/
White, the Supreme Court of the United
States has rendered signal and import.
ant service to the progress Of the fine
arts. BY the statute of 1912, Congress
authorized the Commissioner to grant
letters patent to those "whose industry
genius, efforts, and expense" should
produce new designs for printing, sta
tues, bas relieves; in short, for all forms
OF ornamentatiou. 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 constituting
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 a
dead letter Very few suits were
brought under it at the Circuit, and,
until the present, none have been car
ried to the Supreme Court.
The result has been that infringe
ments of design patents have become
almost universal No sooner did a
pattern. devised and introduced at great
expense, become popular in the market
than it was copied by other manufsc-
turers, who thus, without risk, and
almost without loss of business consid-
Grafton, enjoyed the fruits Of the genius
and enterprise Of others. This became
at last q serious evil, which seemed to
threaten the very existence of American
design, for no one could afford to en-
ploy corps Of artists, and incur the
coat Of bringing new goods into the
market, if his property in the result
was open to be shared by all the world.
This was the state OF the business
which the Gorham Manufacturing
Company undertook to remedy. They
were, as every one knows, foremost
among American silver-smiths tor the
beauty and novelty Of their goods. I'm
dismayed by the growing practice of in
fringement which disgraced the trade,
they kept large corps of artists in their
employ, whose business it was 10 devise
new and beautiful forms and decora-
tons. These were, as general rule,
copied BY others, and the Gorham Com
pany resolved to see whether 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 fight for
art and their rights for six years, I'M
aided save by the moral support Of the
trade, and the decision of the Supreme
Court has at last crowned their courage
and endurance with brilliant triumph
They selected, as the ground on which
to make their fight, the patent for the
design of the well known Cottage Pat
tern of spoons and forks. The in
FINGERS called their goods the Gothic
Pattern, and bad, also, a paterI but
the Gorham Company charged that this
was an evident copy of their design,
varied only for the purpose OF escaping
the law. TWAS an additional grievance
in this case that the cottage goods
were in silver, while the imitation was
in base metal.
They proved, by nearly ell the lead
ing silver smiths of New York, Phila-
delphis, Boston, and the West, that the
defendants goods were 30 nearly like
the plaintiffs that ordinarJ purchasers
would mistake the one for the other.
They further showed the great value OF
their design, which was pronounced bv
an eminent dealer the best plain pat-
tern he had ever seen, and which was
estimated By another leading silver
smith to be, in his judgment, worth
$50, 900 at least. And they called wit
nesses in the trade who narrated occa-
sions when they had actually mistaken
one pattern for the other.
None Of these facts were denied oy
the defendants, who rested their case
solely on the fact, not controyerted by
the Gorham Company, that there were
certain differences in the details of the
two designs, which experts and persons
accustomed to look at silverware would
certainly observe And the question
was thus fairly raised whether patent
for a design was infringed or the in
ringer was clever enough to produce
mon the eve the same artistic effect,
and vet vary from the details shown
and described in the patent. The
plaintiffs claimed that if, to the eye OF
the purchaser, the resemblance was 90
close that the patterns were the same
then that, in the law, they must be
deemed the same; while the defendants
urged that it was for experts and de-
sisners to determine the identity OF the
patterns.
The cause was heard in Newport IN
the summer of 1870, and the views o.
the defendant we're sustained oy the
opinion of the Court.
This doctrine went to the root OF the
matter, II it were sound, design patents
were of no value for it 10 always easy to
vsrv the details of a work Of art, and
vet preseve the same artistic effect ana
the same results onShe eye OF the oo-
sewer To such a rule the Gorham
COMPANY, and, indeed, the fine arts o. |,
the country, could not submit. Ana
thew therefore appealed their cause TO
the Supreme Court, which has just deI
c;ded il in their favor, aud has reversed
The doctrine of the Court below.
the value Of the doctrine OF this de-
ci,ion to the artistic progress OF the
country can scarcely be overrated. Ia,
yentors of designs now stand on the
same level with inventors Of machines.
SH,' beautiful arts may now 60 into
business and vie with their mechanical. ,.
s;slsrs in the successful pursuit, OF
wealth 1t will now become more man
aver for the interests Of the great SILVER
e1ei ~. .ha nrodnction OF new