The Washington critic., 1889-01-22
IMPORTANT TO PATENTEES.

Yesterdays Decision of the Supreme
Court
The decision of the United States Su-
preme Court yesterday in the case of the
Bate Refrigerator Company against Ham
mond will be very far-reaching in its eff
fects. A Washington special to the New
York Tribune says:
The Circuit Courts have uniformly held
that the American patent lapsed with the ex-
piration of the original term of the foreign
patent and was unaffected by any possible ex-
tension Of the latter. Thus, If John Smith
took out Canadian patent for five years with
the privilege Of extending it to ten or fifteen
years on payment of fees, and subsequently
took out an American patent, the courts have
held that the American patent must expire
absolutely at the end of the first five years,
whether the Canadian patent was extended or
not To-day the Supreme Court has swung
the pendulum to the other extreme and held
that the American patent shall run for fifteen
years absolutely, whether the Canadian pat
ent is kept alive for that term or permitted to
lapse.
by the change, Edison is the greatest gamer.
A large Dumber Of his patents Of or years
ago have been held invalid under the former
construction of the law on account OF prior
patents granted him in foreign countries.
NOW bOIUc VI tutLn Will Dc VI NuiuC.
One patent alone on what is known as the
system OF electrical distribution by multiple
arc covers every incandescent electric light
plant In the country. 1t is impossible to run
an incandescent plant on any other principle.
This patent was regarded as void from the
beginning, because Of previous Italian
incaudescent electric lighting business until
1895. Not only does 1t cover the future, but
the past as WE'LL for Edison can collect royal
ties from all rival companies for the plants
operated during the last two years.
The original phonograph patents come In
the same category. Unless Mr., Lippincott,
| opoly Of the improved phonogragh and graph
| ophone patents for million dollars cash, has
| provided against this unforeseen turn In the
legal wheel Of fortune by buying up the sup
posedly worthless original phonograph patents
Of 1878, the old phonograph company, to
which those patents were assigned, can now
ruin him and send the inflated stocks of the
recently formed graphophone and phonograph
| companies tumbling down to the bottom ol
the stock list.
The Otis Gas Engine patents have beer
| sustained In England after costly litigation
| but overthrown in Germany after an equally
| hard fight. Their United States patents were
reported void on examination because OF pre-
vious Italian patents. Now, II they are to bC
| overthrown 1t must be after q prolonged
struggle on the merits of the case, as wat
done In Germany.
Hundreds of investors who have only pu
their money into the manufacture OF patented
articles after having been advised by thei
lawyers that they might safely do SO without
being compelled to pay ruinous tribute to thu
owners Of prior patents were worthless II
view Of previous foreign patents granted FOL
short terms see ruin staring them In the face
II this decision will stand IL will form as ia
nous a precedent as the great case o
O'Reilly against Morse, in which the inven
ton of the electric telegraph was involved
aud will be more widely felt in its ilnancia
influence than the decision in the case OF tn
Green driven-well patent, which threatened Il
lay the farmers Of the country under tribut
for many millions of dollars