The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1895-03-09
Edison Telephone lnver tons No
Longer Protected.
The SUPREME COURT SAYS so
Announc Il "A Number Of Decisions of
Nstionai importance Ia h r. gis-
Ter Case Govs over.

Washington, d. c.. March 4. -
The supreme court met today after
a recess of four weeks, with all the
justices except Jackson in attendance.
long list Of opinions was disposed of
rapidly Many of them decided cases
of great importance
The case of the Bate Refrigerator
Company against F. Sulzberger & Co,
upon which the question was raised
when American patents expire when
foreign patents have been previously
issued, was decided today in an eX-
haustive opinion by Justice Harlan.
The court held that the invention for
which Bate received his patent was pre-
viously patented in foreign country,
and the United States patent expired
with the foreign patent.
The case involves the reconstruction
of section 4S,SS7 of the revised statutes
which provides that every patent
granted for an invention which has
been previously patented in a foreign
country shall be so limited as to expire
at the same time as the foreign patent,
or. if there be more than one, at the
same time with the one having the
shortest term. and in no case shall it
be in force more than II years.
Among the patents affected are three
issued to the Western Union Telegraph
Company. on application filed by
| Thomas A. Edison. These inventions
became the property of the American
Bell Telephone Company by the tele-
phone consolidation contract, NOvem-
Der l, 1879. These Edison patents are
claimed to be fundamental and they,
with the Berliner patents, now in litiga-
ton and which are made in the patent
office from 1877 to November, 1891, eX-
pire at the date of the expiration of the
foreign patents. The inventions have
been in use since 1878 The Edison in
ventions were patented in England,
France and Canada in 1877 in Belgium,
Austro-Hungary, Italy, Germany and
. Spain in 1875 and in Prussia in 1882.
They are free in foreign countries. and
: under the construction now given are
} made free in this country. Substan-
: TALLY, the decision will affect, in the
same way, the quadrupleX telegraph
: patents which were applied for in Octo-
Der, 1874, and issued December Is. 1885
The incandescent lamp patents filed by
e the General Electric Light Company ar,
t also included in those which will be af
e fected by the invention.
DEOO1 l4ENIAl4.
An interesting question, whether tn,
! conviction of a person by means of
r decoy letter is legal. was passed upoI
n in the case of one Grimme. convicted il
= Missouri for dealing in obscene pictures
r He answered a letter from a postOffic
t inspector, which resulted in his convic
= ton, and he appealed, complaining
s against the method by which it was Sc
= cured The court held that the deco.
n letters were both morally and legal.
d justifiable.
l. The decision of the circuit court 70
l. the district of Massachusetts in tn
= case of the National Cash Register Com
: pany against the Boston Cash Indicate
e q Record Company, was reversed, o
l. the opinion by Justice Brown, holdin
that defendants machine is an infringe
q ment on the National cash register.
NOT INTERSTATE COMMERCE..
!, An interesting constitutional questio
= was decided in the case of e. S. Emmel
against the state of Missouri. The fol-
mer is the agent or peddler of the Sins
N er sewing machines. 1t was sought I
make him pay a peddlers' license H
"a refused, cOntending that as the ms
chimes came from New Jersey, the
d cense was a restriction on the cOnstitl
u tional rights of interstate commerce
~ The>court held that, being handled as
w part of local and domestic commerce
i they were no longer subjects of int
RS state traffic and were properly subje'
a. to state police regulations.
le The Arkansas law of 1877 limiting pa
-, senger fares to cents a mile and fixin
h. a penalty of $500 for each overcharg
f. was sustained.
n In the case Of the United States again
Ks George H. Pratt and Monroe SalisbuI
e, of California, to recover excessive pa.
at ments made to them for carrying mail
the action Of the court below in dismis
ing them was reversed.
rs PACIFIC COAST CASES
lit The conviction of Harry +. Batchello
formerly president of the Stockgrowe
he National bank of Miles City, Montan
in for embezzlement, by the circuit cou
IT. for the district of Montana, was rever
n ed, on the ground that the indictme
ne was defective
re The case of Bannon and Mulk'
iS against the state Of Oregon, plaintiff
sIf having been convicted, with % other
adj of conspiring to bring Chinese lahore
of into the state, contrary to law, was d
lily cided. The chief allegation of the plai
lot tiffs in error was that the indictme
sol 10,