The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1895-09-12


alpha" De Lavel Patents Sustained
There has recently been several i'm
portant decisions in the United States
courts regarding centrifugal cream separ-
ator patent rights, which are deserving
OF the attention of those interested in
any way in these machines.
On June is, Judge CoxA, sitting in the
| United States circuit court for the
| Northern District of New York. at Can
andaigua, N. Y, granted a decree, in
| elusive of u perpetual lnjunction sus-
| tanning the material Claims of the Won
| Bechtolsheim patent No. 1878, better
and commercially known as the Alpha
De Lave! patent in the suit of the DE
Lavel Separator company, of New York,
against Samuel Hotchkiss of Delaware
! county, n. Y, who had been making
and selling n cream separator with an
| interior bowl device thus held to infringe
the "Alpha" patent as charged by the
De Lavel company.
Following this decision Judge Wa-are,
sitting in the Unitel States court at
Syracuse, N, Y, on August 20, granted
\ an injunction against John Houston, OF
Hamden, Delaware county, N. Y, an
| owner and user of one of the so-oaled
Hotchkis5 separators, which injunction
restraints Houston from the further use
of sucn machine.
These decisions are Of no little interest
tc creamerymen and dliryman and for
that matter to the public generally, since
it is maintained that the centrifugal
cream separator, which has already revo-
,utionized the conditions of the separa-
tion Of cream from milk, is soon to be
introduced in a form of household use,
that we may perhaps grind" the cream
for our coffee as we now do the coffee
itself.
The centrifugal separator patents have
long been in litigation. The De Lavei
company was practically the pioneer in
the Introduction of these machines, but
of late years various concerns previously
making gravity cream setting appliances
have taken up the manufacture of the
centrifugal machines as well. The De
Laval company has bitterly resented this
trespass upon its Gained rights, and in
fringement proceedings under its patents.
in which it claims to have invested ana
expended nearly a million dollars, have
been brought in several states.
In its later machines, The De Lava.
company has practically abandoned the
Older types of separator construction and
now uses what IS termed the alpha"
process, consisting of m interior de-
vice dividing the milk in the revolving
separator bowl 1t is this new and i'm
proved alpha" patent which the United
States courts nov sustain and hold
other machines to infringe in the use
of bowl dividing appliances. The sub
iect thus becomes one of considerable
Importance to users of separators, both
those who may be already using some
possibly infringing machine. and those
contemplating the purchase of a separ-
ator.
1t is not definitely known how broad
the scope of the present decisions may be
as regards their immediate bearing upon
the manufacture and use Of the asserted
infringing machines other than the ones
specifically sued upon in these actions,
out 1t will not De amiss for buyers to
he careful in this respect.
1t will be noted that in the decisions
rendered the user is held equally respon-
sib.e with the manufacturer and in sim
pie protection of self interests any pur-
chaser of an appliance the subject or
pending litigation or likely to be involved
in costly infringement proceedings should
exercise due caution.