The San Francisco call., 1897-01-05
MILL IONS IN A
COURT DECISION
After Eight Years of Liti-
cation A. B. Bowers
Wins His Suit.
The Most Important Patent Case
Ever Tried on This
Coast.
About Forty Cases for Infringement
Pending on the Issue-Big Con.
tracts Are Involved.

By decision of the United States Cir
cult Court of Appeals, handed down yes
terday. A. B. Bowers virtually owns a
monopoly of the hydraulic dredging busi-
ness. The decision Mr.. Bowers estimates
as worth a trifie above six millions to
him--all the way from six to fifteen
m illions.
The decision came in the suit of Bowers
against Won Schmidt-which is one among
many cases-but the decision is supposed
to end nearly all the others. The Ian
guage OF the decision is that Mr.. Bowers
is the original inventor of the hydraulic
dredger and that his patents are entitled
to broad and liberal construction.
The fight has been going on for eight
years, and testimony has been taken suffi-
Glen: to cover 2477 large printed pages.
The suit which was concluded yester-
day was begun in November, 1888. In
July 1894-six years lateT-a decision was
rendered by Judge McKenna in favor OF
Bowers. An appeal was taken, and pend
ing the decision of the Court of Appeals
a great deal of work has been tied up, as
well as other litigation stayed.
| Judges Ross and Gilbert participated in
the decision, Judge Hay being disquali-
| fed through his having decided certain
| minor points In the same case.
| No less than eighteen suits are now in
the courts against alleged infringements
OF these patents, and some twenty others
are about TO be entered. Among the for
mer are suits against the Pacific Improve
ment Company. the American Dredging
Company, the Oakland Iron Works, the
New York Dredging Company, the San
Francisco Bridge Company, Pacific Coast
! Dredging and Reclamation Company,
A II a,1I. L., ~.
Lindon w. Bates, Hydraulic Dredging
and Improvement Company and the City
| of Oakland.
This involves check to a number of
big contracts, notably the dredging of the
Oakland harbor, the big drainage canal at
Chicago and the dredging of "the city
waterway" in the harpor of Tacoma.
| These big jobs, undertaken by rival
companies with the Objectionable dredg-
ers may not be stopped to be sure, but
they will have to go forward on basis of
settlement with Bowers.
The decision is very far-reaching. 1t
will put dredging, so far as it is done by
| hydraulic suction dredging, in the hands
of A. B. Bowers, and this not only applies
to the work going on in this country and
to go on, but to big contracts in the har-
| bors of the world, notably some in Japa-
nese and Russian harbors. contracts for
which are about to be awarded.
! The big work being done at Tacoma has
been practically awaiting this oecislon.
An application was made in the courts
there by Bowers for preliminary injunc-
ton on the strength of the decision of
Judge McKenna, but it was denied. This
decision will serve to secure the iniunc-
ton. The work there is being done by
the New York Dredging Company. The
work in Oakland harbor is being done by
the San Francisco Bridge Com pany.
The attorneys for Mr.. Bowers in this,
said to be the most important patent case
ever tried on this coast, were John H.
| Miller and John l.. Boone. The briefs on
file in the Circuit Court were presented by
Mr.. Miller. The long fight made by Mr..
Bowers, and which means millions to him,
| has been fought for much of the time
under great financial EN- barrassment.
The defendants in the suits still to be
brought include corporations, private in
dividuals, United States engineers and
the United States Government. 1t is
| likely, however, that compromises will
be effected and that they will be required
to pay a royalty for using their dredgers.
The cost of hydranlic dredger of the
Bowers type is about $4,000, so that it
may be found cheaper to pay royalty than
10 throw the big machines away that are
decreed to be infringements.