Evening star., 1909-08-22

today in the action brought by the Wright
brothers against Glenn II. Curtiss and
the Herring -Curtiss Company of Ham
mondsport manufacturers of aeropianes,
for alleged infringement Of patents
Similar suit was begun in New York
Thursday against the Aeronaufic Society
in that city. The bill of complaint against
the Herring-Curtiss Company is answer
able at the October term Of the United
States court In this district. which prob
ably will be held at Iocliport.
War among the aviators. which has
been looked for during the last year, has
broken out III New York in the shape of
Il suit filed by the Wright prothers
against the Aeronautic Society on account
Of the flying machine which Glenn ri.
crrtiss sold to the society, ana which
has been on exhibition in New York and
has made several sutce sSful flights at
Hampstead Plains.
This is the beginning OF what probably
will be a ons-draUii tight in the
courts comparable 10 the litigation over
TIC Beriner patents III tie famous Bell
telephone Suit has been filed by
the Wrights, Wilbur Wright signing the
bill of complaint Tie suit charges the
Aeronattic Society with exhibiting for
money a machine that violates the wright
patents, and asks to be given the custody
of the machine for the purpose of de-
stroyinS it. and asks also for an account
ing for the gate money taken IN at the
exhibitions and for damages for the in
frinSement of patent.
I. The Aeronautic Society states unoii-
cially through Lee Burridge that the
machine WAS bought from tho Herring
CurtsS Company with Il guarantee that
Il did not infringe the Wright patents, and
the society shifts the defense of the case
under this guarantee to the Herring
CurtiSS Company.
Claim All Rights.
While this suit is not of supreme inn
portance in itself it means the start of
a legal fight that is of the greatest in
teresl in the general development of avia-
ton. II is carrying out promise that
the Wrights made when they We're here
recently. They claim the basic patent
under which all successful heavier than
air flying machines operate. and they
claim that all such machines that are
flying now are an infringement of that
patent. They claim that Bleriot, Latham,
Cody and CurtiSs are all infringing this
patent. besides numerous smaller aviators
who have machines that have never yet
flown.
When Orville Wright was last here he
was asked what he and his brother puf-
posed doing about these cases. He re-
piled that in the majority of instances
they did not think they were worth fight
ing. but il there We're any machines put
on the market tnat cut into their bust
ness they should go after them for in
frinsement of patent. This seems to
have happened in the case of the new
Curtiss fiier. and the suit probably is the
beginning of long litigation that will
straighten out in the courts the claims
of the various interested parties.
Beginning of the Conflict.
The beginning of the conflict with the
Curtiss machine was just about two
years ago. At that the Wrights had
been operating power-driven machine.
and while they had not yet come into
prominence they were recognized among
scientists interested in the art as among
the premier aviators of the world. When
OrviIe Wright first came to Fort Myer
with the aeroplane that was afterward
broken up he was asked about the work
of the Aerial Experiment Association,
which was jus; making some trials with
the June Bug. the first machine which
was flown at Hanlmondsport. He said
at the time that the use of wing tips
was an infringement of the broad Wright
patent, but that the Experiment Asso-
citation was using it with the permission
! long as it was used merely for expert
mental purposes they cared nothing
! ABOUT it. The Aerial Experiment Asso-
,, citation was formed under the presidency
of DR.. Alexander Graham Bell, with a
membership consisting only of r. w.
| Baldwin. j. A. p. McCurdy. Glenn Cur
tiss and the late Lieut.. Selfridge, who
was killed in tthe fall of the Wright
| aeroplane at Fort Myer.
orville Wright said that the experiment
association had written the Wrig hit
brothers fo! details of their work and
that these had been furnished for eN-
perimental purposes and TO help along
the advancement of the art. The ass1-
citation afterward built the June Bug. the
Red Wing an. the White Wing all of
which We're more or less successful. In
the June Bug Curtiss won the Scientific
American trophy for a flight over a
measured klometer.
The most successful of all the machines
OF the association. however, was Nc
Ciirdy's Silver Dart. which was tried out
at ereat length over the ice at Badeck,
\. $. last winter. and which McCurdy
and Baldwin have since undertaken to
| Manufacture in Canada. where it is said
the Wrights have no patent.
Since that time the Herring CurtiSs
Company formed at Hammondsport.
and the latest CurtisS machine with
which long flights We're made and which
was sold To the Aeronautic Society of
| New York VAS built with some changes
| in the method Of control which the manu-
facturers claimed got away from the
/ Wright patents. but which the Wrights
seem To think did not
The Fundamental Question.
The fundamental question involved is
whether not the Wright patent covers
all forms of rudders for guiding that
may be construed into warpiug the
planes. whether such rudders are really
a part of the main planes or both The
original Wright patent was applied for
in l9o:: and was not finally granted till
1905. 1t was for the warping of the main
planes of the machine so as to maintain
lateral balance in the air The patent
specifically stated that the planes were
flat wherein they differed from the ma
chine that was finally sold to the govern
meut. for this had curved planes to in
crease the lifting power. though the
warping feature was retained
Claim a Broad One.
Their claim is just about as broad as
though all wagons had gone on runners
and somebody had then invented =
wheel and claimed u basic patent on all
wheeled traffic What view the courts
will take Of the case il u.s. OF course.
impossible to say. II the Wrights
claim Is sustained. ii will mean a basic
patent for them, which is a rare thing
in patent office practice. So rare is il,
in fact. that all of the blanks for
claims in the patent Office are made To
read improvements on various de-
vices. In fact, about the last basic pat
ent that was granted WAS Tho ono IN