The times., 1897-03-21
Attorneys Say the New Rules Are
Very Arbitrary.
PRACTICE Is PARALYZED
The Code of Practice Established
for Many Years Ignored and a
New Method Introduced That Is
Understood by No One But the
Patent Commissioner.

make them comprehend those rules Of
practice he promulgated some weeks ago.
| For thirty years the successive Commits
sioners OF Patents have been building a
| code to govern the practice OF patent law
before the department.. Every year with
4 in that long period the code has been re-
vised, added to. condensed and shaped TO
| meet the demands Of the day. IL was
| soon almost complete. The examiners in
| the office understood it. The hundreds
of attorneys here and scattered all over
! the United States, representing the thou
| sands OF inventors making application to
| the department, understood IL Very lit
| tie more revision was necessary before
1 this code would have covered every phase
1 and point in patent law Suddenly, few
weeks ago, Mr.. Seymour, with one big
! stroke of arbitrary authority unfortunate
| ly for the people, vested in him by law,
set this valuable code, familiar to all con
cerned, aside and put into operation a
new and condensed SET Of rules, which no
body concerned but himself understands
and ever since there as been hubbub and
NOuluolGu Lit examiners ana
the attorneys practieing before the de-
| partnent. The interests of every inventor
| are IN jeopardy and day by day the ma
cfdnery OF this great department OF the
| government is becoming blocked.
The examiners are on the verge of
paresis trying to comprehend what the
new rules mean The attorneys are losing
their practice because they do not cover
inventors are losing time and money be-
| cause the attorneys cannot push their in
yentions through The department is re-
ceiving letters every day from attorneys in
every part OF the country, saying that
action VIII be suspended on cases in their
charge until new CoIuFnis ssioner OF atents
is appointed. Local attorneys do not
hesitate to ray that the Seymour code is
so ridiculous that they would not attempt
| TO settle case involving any unusual COM
plcations They say that the code is so
insufficient and faulty that any case out
OF the ordinary could not be decided in the
department under it, An appeal to the
| courts involving many months, and, per
haps, years. of delay would follow any
attempt to proceed in such a case.
They believe that time viii be gained
Dg HdlblAl5 SIc dppJlACifEHI VI q HtN tOAli-
missioner. The universal opinion expressed
to The Times yesterday by prominent
examiners in the department, men who
attended Seymour's council of compre-
hension,' and local attorneys practicing
before the department, was that the in-
coming Commissioner will Immediately set
aside the new alleged code and re-estab-
hsh the old one. They say that If this is
Z 1a-iIr F,a
II can be understood how crude and in
complete the new code is by one iIlustra-
ton. 1t was the practice under the old
code to allow two years after decision
OF the department in a given case in which
the patentee or his or her attorney could
! take action. That is. to either accept the
decision OF the department or to appa ii
the case to civil court. Mr.. Seynour's
code says that but six months will be
allowed the patentee or attorney to take
action after decision OF the department.
Six months is such a ridiculously short
time in which to allow an inventor to
decide the proper course TO pursue, that
Senator PIatt, OF Connecticut. secured the
passage of a bill allowing the pateHtee
one years time to act on the decision
of the department. without losing his claim
Mr. Seymour has not changed his code in
this particular.
When he was seen yesterday Mr.. Sey-
unour said he didn't care to answer the
attacks which have been made upon him
by the attorneys practicing before the
department He has been accused Of
enforcing this arbitrary code for adver-
tising purposes. He has resigned and
10 iS caiI
Mr. Harmon, brother of the late IT
torney General OF the United states. Mr..
Har1non is now employed in the Patent
office.
The fact that these rules were not put
into operation until these gentlemen were
about to resign excited this comment
1t is well known that the 81, 500 annual
salary of the Commissioner of Patents is
nothing compared with the money a man
can make after he has farniliarized himself
with the duties OF a Commissioner. II a
retiring Commissioner wanted to he could
take with him the names and addresses
of all the applicants for patents whose
applications had been rejected under his
administration. They would be worth
small fortune to him Every rejected ap-
plieant would be willing to reopen his
missioner of Patents under whose admin
istration it was rejected should address
him letter stating that It was possible
to secure him patent under the new
administration. Many ex-cornmissioners
have rcaped fortunes by this scheme. 1t is
a perfectly legitimate heritage from the
cornrussionership-
Mr. Seymour denied yesterday that his
examiners are at sea over his new rules.
The patent attorneys who were inter
viewed talked freely, hut requested that
dependent upon the Commissioner OF Pat
ents to secure favors for their clients
The Patent Bar Association did all in its
power to defeat the Introduction of the
new code. Mr.. Seymour took no advice
from the men no have been practicing be-
fore the department for years. Now that
they are in force the members of the
bar knowing Mr.. SeymoUr's determined
character, are suspending their practice
as far as possible and waiting for the ap-
pointment of his successor, who. they feel,
will relieve the situation.
They are speculating and discussing
daily with interest the probable appointee
to the office. Mr.. Benjamin Butterw orth,
is said, could have It If he would accept,
hut it is believed he wants TO be solicitor
general Col j. A. wietiersfIien, proIui-
nent patent attorney of Philadelphia, is
probably the strongest OF the other candi-
dates.