Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-03-07
ADVERSE PATENT DECISION EY
SUPREME COURT.
TELEPHONE AND OTHER INNEN-
TIONS IN YOLVED.
The End of the Celebrated Bate Re-
f~rigerator Company Litigation
Many Millions Concurred-Opinion
by Justice Harlan-Patents EXpir-
ing Abroad No Good Here.

15o4AIoL L CulNOCISNL w., up 3
on which the question whether Amer
lean patents expire when foreign pat
entS have been previously issued
hinges, was decided by the supreme
court yesterday. 1t is estimated fully
six hundred million dollars capital in
vested in many valuable patents
hinges OIL this decision. The conrt
holds that the invention for which
Bate received his patent had been
previously patented in a foreign coun-
try, and that the United States patent
did expire with the foreign patents.
The decision is against electric and
other patents involved in the decision
of this suit.
Among patents affected are three is
sued to the Western Union Telegraph
company on applications filed by
Thomas A. Edison, which afterwards
became the property of the American
Bell Telephone company. These pat
ents are claimed to be fundamental
n with the Berliner patent now in
litigation expire at the date of the eX-
pirltton Of the foreign patent. They
are free In foreign countries and, I'M
der the present decision, are made free
in this country. The decision will also
affect in the same way the quadru-
pick telegraph patents, and incan-
descent lamp patents filed by the Gen
eral Electric Light company. There
was no dissenting opinion.
The decision at first reviews the
patent laws since the foundation of the
government, tntacing with minuteness
the provisions as to foreign and dOmes-
tic patents. 1t sums UP the laws in
substance thus:
"From the HISTORY OF the several
acts of congress relating to patents
for inventions, 1T appear that in all
the above acts congress had in mind
the date of application for a patent;
the date of filing of specifications, and
the date of the patient
The court then rules ON the evident
intent of the statute not to be to bar
TN American from receiving a patent
in the United States ON account of a
prior issuance of a foreign patent ON
the same device, by reason of his HAY
ing previously taken out letters patent
therefor in "a foreign country, more
than six months priOr to his applica-
o This RULING the court holds APP
piled to the Bate patent, and CON
tinueS:
Yet, every patient granted for an in
Vention previously patented in Il for
ign country shall be so limited as to
expire ait the same time. with the one
having the shortest term-in no case
to remain in force longer than seven
teen years.
"TherefOre the American patent eX-
pired with the foreign patent and
thereby the American public became
entitled to THE use of the invention
from the time the foreign public was
permitted to use it. Congress, in
effect. by existing laws, says to the
Inventor, If your invention has not
been introduced into public use i'm the
United States for more than two years,
you may, upon complying with the
conditions prescribed, obtain an Ameri-
can patent and you may, if YOU can,
obtain n foreign patent. But the
American patent will be granted ON
condition that if you obtain a foreign
patent first, your invention shall be
free to the American people, when
ever by reaSon of the expiration of
the foreign patent it becomes free to
people abroad; but in no case shall
the term of the American patent eX-
coed seventeen years
Our arswers therefore to the ques-
ions certified are that the invention
for which the United States patentee,
Bate. was issued, was, under the facts
stated. previously patented in a for
eign country, within the meaning of
those words in section 1887 of the re-
vised statutes. and the United States
patent to him expired under the terms
of that section before the expiration of
the seventeen years from it's date.
Let it be so certified to the circuit court
of appeals"
The supreme court has reversed the
decision of the lower court in the case
involving the validity of the patent of
The National Cash Register company.
The decision is in favor of the COM
pany.
New York. March 5.-The Bate de-
ciSion handed down by the United
States supreme court is probably more /
f~ar-reaching in its influence and eff
fects on a larger amount of property
than any decision of the court since
the "greenback" cases were dis
posed CT. The decision has not only
settled the controversy between the
parties directly interested,-the Gen
eral Electric company, and the Amer
lean Bell Telephone company, on one !
side, and the Westinghouse and the
anti-Bell Telephone company on the
other,-but it also dispCseS of a very
large number of other patents which
the public have assumed to have eX-
ptred under the ruling of the lower
court, but which would have been re-
vived If the decision in this case had
been otherwise. and it also Shortens
the life of a great many patents. which
have o yet actually expired. The
decision is against the position taken
by the General Electric and
the American Bell Telephone cont
pany, Il those associated with them
upon appeal, and it afirms the deci-
sion previously rendered by the United
state circuit court in this district.
This decision terminates the three Ed
iSoR patents for a carbon transmitter
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