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Timestamp: 2019-04-19 07:42:20+00:00

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The Singer Manufacturing Company, a corporation organized under the laws of the state of New Jersey, filed its bill [163 U.S. 169, 170] in equity in the circuit court of the United States for the Northern district of Illinois against the June Manufacturing Company, an Illinois corporation.
The bill alleged that the complainant was engaged in the manufacture of sewing machines, and had an exclusive right to the word 'Singer' as a trade-name and 'designation' for such sewing machines. It averred that defendant, for the purpose of inducing the belief that sewing machines manufactured and sold by it were made by the complainant, was making and selling machines of the exact size, shape, ornamentation, and general external appearance as the machines manufactured by complainant; that the defendant was imitating a described trade-mark which the complainant had for many years placed upon its machines; that it was imitating 'devices' cast by complainant in the legs of the stands of the machines manufactured and sold by it; and that the defendant advertised the machines by it made by means of cuts and prints, imitations of the cuts and prints made by complainant and representations of the machines manufactured by complainant. An accounting for the profits received by defendant was prayed, as also an injunction to restrain the use by defendant in its business of the word 'Singer' as a designation of the machines manufactured by it, and to restrain a continuation of its other alleged wrongful practices.
In its answer the defendant denied that it had attempted to avail itself of the complainant's 'representation' and trade-name, or that in anything done by it it had sought to induce the belief that the machines manufactured and sold by it were manuf ctured by the complainant, and alleged that the form, size, shape, and appearance of its machines were public property, and not the exclusive property of the complainant. It was averred that the defendant constructed its machines on the principles of machines which had been protected by letters patent, held by the Singer Company by license or otherwise, but which patents had long since expired, and that the name 'Singer' was the generic name of such machines. The defendant admitted that it affixed an oval plate to its machines, but claimed that the device placed by it thereon [163 U.S. 169, 171] was dissimilar to that used by the complainant, and averred that the words 'Improved Singer,' stamped on such plate, was the correct name of the machine. It was also averred that, while formerly an elaborate monogram was placed on said plate, composed of the letters 'S. M. Co.,' being the initials of the 'Standard Manufacturing Company' (a former corporate name of defendant), the monogram now placed upon said plate was 'J. M. Co.' It was also claimed that the device on the legs of the stands of machines manufactured by the defendant was not an imitation of that employed by complainant upon its machines, but that, on the contrary, the device used by the defendant was adopted by it to prevent confusion in the minds of the public as to the manufacture of the machines.
It appeared from the evidence that the construction of the Singer sewing machines was commenced in 1850, in the latter part of which year the firm of I. M. Singer & Co. was formed. Witnesses testified that the firm named made and introduced the first practical sewing machine. I. M. Singer & Co. continued in the business of manufacturing sewing machines until June, 1863, when that firm transferred all its assets, property, patents, and good will to the Singer Manufacturing Company, a corporation formed under the laws of the state of New York, and the manufacture of Singer sewing machines was continued by that corporation. In the year 1873 a new corporation, known also as the Singer Manufacturing Company, was organized under the laws of New Jersey, to which corporation the New York concern transferred its assets. The stockholders in both companies were the same, and the business of the New York corporation has ever since been continued by the New Jersey corporation.
The original members of the firm of I. M. Singer & Co.-I. M. Singer and Edward Clark-were the principal stockholders of both corporations, and on their death, in 1875 and 1882, respectively, their interests passed to their children and grandchildren, who yet are among the principal stockholders of the concern. During the existence of the firm of I. M. Singer & Co., and the life of its successor, the New York [163 U.S. 169, 172] association, the domicile of both was in New York, and after the creation of the New Jersey corporation that company also carried on the business through a general office in New York City.
Machines of various patterns were constructed by the firm and the corporations, intended both for domestic purposes and for use in manufacturing. The differences in the arrangement of varying types of these machines were in some respects essential, and extended to many, but not all, of the mechanical principles employed, although all the machines were in certain particulars covered by a few fundamental patents of which the corporations were owners or licensees. None of the machines, however, were patented as a whole.
The patent to Elias Howe, granted September 10, 1846, and which remained in force until 1867, covered the use of the eye-pointed needle in combination with a shuttle and automatic feed. A patent issued to John Bachelder in 1849, and which remained in force until about 1877, covered the principle of a continuous feed. The firm of I. M. Singer & Co. purchased this patent, and it subsequently passed to their corporate successors. A third important patent utilized in the machines was one issued in 1851 to Allen B. Wilson, for a feeding bar. This extended patent expired in 1872. The Singer Manufacturing Company became a part owner of this latter patent.
The use of the patents of Howe and Bachelder were not confined to the Singer machines, but were employed under license by manufacturers of other sewing machines where an automatic feed was employed.
These Singer 'New Family' machines were intended to take the place of a machine which had theretofore been known as 'Old Family' and 'Letter A' machine, and were first sold in the spring or winter of 1866. The New Family machine was essentially different in form and appearance and in some of the mechanical principles employed from machines of other manufacturers used for similar purposes, and formed a distinctive Singer machine.
Some of its parts were covered by patents. It passed into very general use, and its sale formed a large part of the business of the corporation.
On the front or top of the arm of the machines made by the Singer firm was marked the name 'I. M. Singer & Co.,' and on those constructed by the corporations the words 'The Singer Mfg. Co.' At infrequent periods prior to 1877 the successors of I. M. Singer & Co. marked upon various styles of their machines, sometimes upon the treadle and again on the arm of the machine, the name 'Singer' alone, but even where this was done the corporate name of the company was always somewhere affixed to the machines. Some few years before the Bachelder patent expired the Singer Company began, in addition to the name of the corporation, as above stated, to affix to all its sewing machines of every grade a trade-mark, which device consisted of a shuttle, two needles crossed, with a line of cotton in the form of a letter 'S,' with a bobbin underneath. This device was placed in the center of an ellipse. Surrounding the upper half of the device were the words 'THE SINGER MFG. CO., N. Y.,' and underneath it were the words 'Trade Mark;' beneath those words a wreath of flowers. This trade-mark was stamped on a brass [163 U.S. 169, 174] plate of oval shape, which plate was attached at the base of the arm of the machine, so as to be readily seen, and to be at once under the eye of a person using of looking at the machine.
WARNING! To protect the public against the devices of a swarm of counterfeiters, every Real Singer Machine is now be ng made with our trade- mark Cast into the Stand as in the above cut.
BUY NO MACHINE WITHOUT IT.
The trade-mark was registered in July, 1885.
As already stated, some of the machines made by the Singer Company before the expiration of the Bachelder and other patents were sporadically marked 'Singer' in addition to the name or initials of the firm or corporation and to the trade-mark. After the expiration of the last of the patents, the Singer corporation changed its method, and put the word 'Singer' on the front and rear of the arm of each machine, unaccompanied with the name of the corporation, except in so far as it appeared on the trade-mark. At all times, also, it was the custom of the Singer Company to mark on its machines the number thereof. These numbers ran consecutively from the beginning, and therefore, indicated with substantial accuracy the total number of machines made. In [163 U.S. 169, 175] addition, all the machines, during the life of the various patents, were marked with the numbers of the patents by which the mechanism was in part covered.
The vast increase in the business carried on by the Singer corporation is shown by the fact that in the year 1870, 127,883 Singer machines were sold; in the year 1878, 356,432; while in 1882 the sales aggregated 603,292. Of those sold in the year 1882, 451,538 were the New Family machines.
For some time its entire product was furnished by the Standard Company to one H. B. Goodrich of Chicago, a dealer in sewing machines. In 1880 sales were made to one or two other dealers, and still other customers were supplied in 1881. In the month of June, 1881, the name of the corporation was changed to the June Manufacturing Company. [163 U.S. 169, 176] In the fall of 1881 that company commenced manufacturing the stands as well as heads of machines, and sold its machines direct to dealers throughout the country.
Although the mechine heads, as stated, were in the exact form and shape of the New Family Singer, they contained no mark indicating the source of their manufacture, except an oval brass plate, a trifle larger than, but of exactly the same shape of, the one found on the Singer machines, and attached at the base of the arm in the same position as the Singer Company placed its plates. Upon this plate the Standard Company stamped in circular form, around the upper half, the words 'Improved Singer,' with the word 'Chicago' at the lower part of the plate, and a monogram, 'S. M. Co.,' with the words 'Trade Mark' above such monogram. The oval plate thus used by the Standard Company continued to be used by the June Company after the change of name; this fact being explained by tes imony showing that there was a supply of these plates on hand. When the supply was exhausted, the June Company attached an oval plate of exactly the same description, except that the monogram was 'J. M. Co.,' and the words 'J. Mfg. Co.' were placed beneath the monogram. In both of these plates the words 'Improved Singer' were cast in prominent lines. The June Company never attempted to register a trade-mark.
On the bed plate of each machine the derendant stamped or cast a number, and on one of these machines put in evidence by complainant the number was 2,543,707. The president of the defendant company gave as an explanation for this method of numbering that he merely followed what he claimed was the custom of other companies, to affix three additional figures to the actual number of the machines manufactured. When the defendant began to make complete machines,-that is, including stands,-it placed on the latter a device, cast in the legs thereof, in the same relative position as was the trade-mark device cast in the legs of the stand which had been adopted by the Singer Company, as heretofore stated, in lieu of the plain style of stand used during the life of the patents. This device of the defendant consisted of [163 U.S. 169, 177] the word 'Singer' alone, in very large letters; the letters 'I. S.' in monogram form above this word 'Singer,' and the words 'J. Mfg. Co.,' in small letters underneath. Concerning this stand the president of the defendant testified as follows: 'The stand being the most prominent and more generally noticed by the public, we adopted as a device ... the word 'Singer' alone, which never, to our knowledge, had been used by the Singer Manufacturing Company, with the letters 'J. Mfg. Co.' under it, and the large letters 'I. S.' in monogram over it.' At the time when the right to make Singer machines vested in the public, the complainant also used a device for regulating the tension, called a 'tension screw,' which it placed upon the top of the face plate of its machines. This improvement continued, however, to be protected by a patent. In precisely the same position upon its machines, the June Company placed a 'dummy' screw.
The defendant advertised its machines extensively, and also issued many circulars concerning them, and furnished with their machines a printed warranty. Their machines were referred to as the 'Improved Singer Sewing Machine,' 'June Improved Singer Sewing Machine,' 'Genuine Improved Singer,' 'The Improved Singer,' 'High Grade Singer Sewing Machines,' 'Improved Singer New Family Sewing Machine,' and 'The New Greatly Improved Singer Sewing Machine'; but all the circulars offered in evidence contained substantially the statement that the machines referred to in them were manufactured by the June Manufacturing Company.
After hearing there was a decree dismissing the bill for want of equity, the court below substantially concluding-First, that the sewing machine in the form made by the defendant was public property, and therefore no infringement of the rights of the complainant had resulted from its use; second, that the name Singer was also public property, and hence no legal injury was caused to the complainant by the use of the name in the manner and form in which it was employed by the defendant; third, that the defendant had not imitated the trade-mark of the complainant. The opinion is reported in 41 Fed. 208. [163 U.S. 169, 178] Lawrence Maxwell, Jr., and Charles K. Offield, for appellant.
John G. Elliott and Wm. Henry Browne, for appellee.
Mr. Justice WHITE, after stating the foregoing facts, delivered the opinion of the court.
The facts recapitulated in the statement just made are undisputed. Those which are seriously controverted, and upon which the legal issues depend are: First, were the sewing machines made by the Singer Company so, in whole or in part, protected by patents, as to cause the name 'Singer' to become, during the existence of the monopoly, the generic designation of such machines, as contradistinguished from a name indicati g exclusively the source or origin of their manufacture? Second. Irrespective of the question of patent, was the name 'Singer,' by the consent and acquiescence of Singer himself and that of the Singer Company, voluntarily used as a generic designation of the class and character of machines manufactured by I. M. Singer & Co. or the Singer Manufacturing Company, so that in consequence of this voluntary action the name became the generic designation of the machines, or was the name solely used by the company as a trade-name, a trade-mark, or one exclusively indicating machines made by I. M. Singer & Co. or the Singer Manufacturing Company?
We will consider these two controverted propositions of facts separately. Before doing so, we deem it well to say that on both these questions there are many conflicting and confusing statements in the record, adduced by both parties. Whatever may be their merit, they are not testimony in the proper sense of the word, being rather the expression of the opinion of the witnesses than substantive proof of existing facts. And the testimony of this character in favor of the respective parties, if allowed all possible weight, produces no affirmative result, since it is equally as strong by way of opinion on one side as it is upon the other. We shall therefore rest our conclusions on a consideration of the facts themselves, [163 U.S. 169, 179] rather than upon the conflicting and irreconcilable opinions of witnesses.
1. It cannot be denied that the Singer machines were covered by patents, some of which were fundamental, some merely accessory. There can also be no doubt that the necessary result of the existence of these patents was to give to the Singer machines, as a whole, a distinctive character and form which caused them to be known as Singer machines, as deviating and separable from the form and character of machines made by other manufacturers. This conclusion is not shaken by the contention that, as many different machines were made by the Singer Manufacturing Company, therefore it was impossible for the name Singer to describe them, all, because the same designation could not possibly have indicated many different and distinct things. The fallacy in the argument lies in failing to distinguish between genus and species. To say that various types of sewing machines were made by the Singer Manufacturing Company in no way meets the view, borne out by the testimony, that all machines by them constructed were in some particular so made as to cause them all to be embraced under the generic head of 'Singer,' and to be protected in some respects by the patents held by the company. From this fact it resulted that during the life of the patents none of the machines as a whole were open to public competition. Persuasive support of this view is afforded by the fact that in many adjudicated cases, to which we shall have occasion hereafter to advert, where, since the expiration of the patents the right to the exclusive use of the name Singer has been asserted, it has, almost without exception, been found that Singer machines, as a whole, were a distinctive class, preserving a general uniformity of nature, however, varying may have been the types by which their structure was manifested.
It may be assumed that the proof establishes that for certain classes of the general type of Singer machines-that is, the species used only for particular and exceptional manufacturing purposes-an addition of some other word or description to the generic name Singer was necessary to completely [163 U.S. 169, 180] convey a perfect indication of the machine referred to; that is, Singer 'carpet machine,' Singer 'leather machine,' etc. But this fact does not counterbalance the conclusive proof that, as a whole, the Singer machines represented a general class, and were known to the public under that comprehensive name, and no other. Indeed, any probative force which might result from the fact that, as to a particular class of Singer machines, some additional word may have been essentia to a perfect designation, bears no relation to the variety of the machine which the defendant is averred to have unlawfully imitated. That machine known as the 'New Family,' intended for general domestic purposes, constituted the larger part of the enormous output of the Singer Companies. It was of a uniform type, and had no other possible designation, in the mind of the general public, other than the word 'Singer.' The foregoing views find conclusive support from the unquestioned fact that upon the expiration of the patents held by the Singer Company the price of the machines made by that company fell enormously in amount. Thus, to adopt the theory advanced by the complainant, we should have to deny the inevitable law of cause and effect.
Abundant corroborative proof that the word 'Singer' became generically descriptive of the machines manufactured by the Singer Company is afforded by the conduct of that company. From the beginning every machine made by it had conspicuously marked on it the name of the manufacturer, 'I. M. Singer & Co.' or the 'Singer Mfg. Co.' Only occasionally was the word 'Singer' alone attached to any of the machines. This continued until the technical trade-mark came into play, which was about the time the patents expired. After this the trade-mark was affixed to the machines, and the name of the manufacturer, except as indicated by the trade-mark, disappeared, and was regularly supplanted by the word 'Singer' alone. The trade-mark then adopted could not have been essential to designate the source of manufacture, since from the inception the company had subserved that purpose by marking the name of the firm or corporation plainly upon the machines. The omission of the name, indi- [163 U.S. 169, 181] cating the origin of manufacture, and the substitution of the word 'Singer,' just before the expiration of the patents, suggest a coincident relation of purpose which is not explained by any testimony in the record. This coincidence between the expiration of the patents and the appearance of the trade-mark on the machines and the use of the word 'Singer' alone tends to create a strong implication that the company, with the knowledge that the patents which covered their machines were about to expire, substituted the trade-mark for the plain designation of the source of manufacture theretofore continuously used, and added the word 'Singer,' which had become the designation by which the public knew the machine, as a distinctive and separate mark, in order thereby to retain in the possession of the company the real fruits of the monopoly when that monopoly had passed away.
2. Irrespective of the patents and the designative significance of the word 'Singer,' which arose during their life, the proof also clearly establishes that the word 'Singer' was adopted by I. M. Singer & Co., or the Singer Manufacturing Company, in their dealings with the general public, as designative of their distinctive style of machines rather than as solely indicating the origin of manufacture. This is demonstrated by the fact that at the inception of the manufacture of the machines the word 'Singer' alone was not used on them. The general method then adopted to indicate the source of the manufacture was to mark conspicuously on the machines the name of the firm or corporation. The name 'Singer' alone was used by the company on signs, on wagons, on advertisements, on bill heads, accompanied with the name of the firm or corporation. This could have had no other purpose than to denote to the public the corporation's understanding of the general name of the machines made by it. There is no proof that the name thus adopted by the corporation did not subserve this contemplated purpose of designating all the machines of whatever type, or that its inadequacy compelled the corporation to add to it, in particular cases, the word 'carpet' or 'leather' to describe machines intended for other than general domestic use. The [163 U.S. 169, 182] conduct of the company in adopting the trade-mark and first affixi g the name at the time of the expiration of the patents, to which we have already adverted, is also of great significance in considering the question of the voluntary previous selection by the corporation of the word 'Singer' as a designation.
'Q. State in detail what connection you have had with the sewing machine business.
'Q. 72. For what purpose and for what object was the name 'Singer' marked upon the machines of the complainant and its predecessors, and applied to them in advertising them?
'A. To designate them, and after the formation of the company to gratify the desire of Mr. Singer to perpetuate his name associated with the machine.
'Q. 73. State what you mean by designating them.
'A. As a Singer machine.
'Q. 74. State whether the name was continued by the [163 U.S. 169, 183] corporate successors of the firm for any otehr reason than to gratify the desire of Mr. Singer.
It is true that this conclusive statement, made by the vice president of the company, is followed in the continuation of his testimony by several leading questions, which could not have failed to suggest to him that it was desired that the statement thus made should be materially qualified. But the result of this effort to lead the witness rather strengthens than weakens the force of the testimony just quoted.
First. That the Singer sewing machines were covered by patents which gave to the manufacturers a substantial monopoly; that in consequence of the enjoyment of this monopoly by the makers the name 'Singer' came to indicate, in its primary sense, to the public, the class and type of machines made by the Singer Company or corporations, and thus this name constituted their generic description; that also, as this name applied to and described machines made alone by the Singer firm or corporations, the use also came in a secondary sense to convey to the public mind the machines made by the firm or corporations.
Second. That the word 'Singer' was also voluntarily applied by the Singer firm or companies as a designation of the general type of machines made by them, with the intention that such machines should be accepted by the public under that name. Thus the course of the business and the purpose for which the name 'Singer' was used brought about results identical with those which sprang from the existence of the monopoly; hence that name became not only the description of the machines, but also, in a subordinate sense, the indication of the source of manufacture.
(1) Unfair competition in business, resulting from the form in which the defendant makes its machines, and also from the employment by it of the word 'Singer' in connection with the marks and devices on the machines, and the use of the same name in circulars and advertisements. (2) The alleged violation of the specific trade-mark of the complainant by the devices found on defendant's machines, and by the use of the word 'Singer.' We will examine these contentions. contentions.
First. Unfair competition in business, resulting from the form in which the defendant makes his machines, and also from the use made by him of the word 'Singer' in connection with the marks and devices on his machines, and the use of the same in circulars and advertisements.
This question subdivides itself into two inquires: Where the name of a patented machine, whether it be an arbitrary one or the surname of the inventor or manufacturer, has become, during the monopoly flowing from the patent, a generic description of such machine, and at the same time in a secondary and relative sense indicates to the public the source of manufacture, has the manufacturer, on the cessation of the monopoly, the right to prevent the making by another of a like machine in the form in which it was made during the life of the patents, and has he also a right to prevent another from calling such machines, by him made, by the generic name attributed to them during the monopoly, and from placing this name on them, and using it in advertisements, in cir- [163 U.S. 169, 185] culars, and generally for such purposes as his interest may suggest? If no right exist in the original manufacturer to prevent another, under the foregoing circumstances, from making machines of like form and structure, and using the name, under the conditions stated, does the one who so makes and uses or sells them enjoy the liberty without any resulting duty whatever, or is it accompained with the obligation of so exercising the right as not to destroy the property of others, and also in such a manner as not to deceive the public?
It is self-evident that on the expiration of a patent the monopoly created by it ceases to exist, and the right to make the thing formerly covered by the patent becomes public property. It is upon this condition that the patent is granted. It follows, as a matter of course, that on the termination of the patent there passes to the public the right to make the machine in the form in which it was constructed during the patent. We may therefore dismiss without further comment the complaint as to the form in which the defendant made his machines. It equally follows from the cessation of the monopoly and the falling of the patented device into the domain of things public that along with the public ownership of the device there must also necessarily pass to the public the generic designation of the thing which has arisen during the monopoly in consequence of the designation having been acquiesced in by the owner, either tacitly, by accepting the benefits of the monopoly, or expressly by his having so connected the name with the machine as to lend countenance to the resulting dedication. To say otherwise would be to hold that, although the public had acquired the device covered by the patent, yet the owner of the patent or the manufacturer of the patented thing had retained the designated name which was essentially necessary to vest the public with the full enjoyment of that which had become theirs by the disappearance of the monopoly. In other words, that the patentee or manufacturer could take the benefit and advantage of the patent upon the condition that at its termination the monopoly should cease, and yet, when the end was reached, disregard [163 U.S. 169, 186] the public dedication and practically perpetuate indefinitely an exclusive right.
The public having the right, on the expiration of the patent, to make the patented article, and to use its generic name, to restrict this use, either by preventing its being placed upon the articles when manufactured or by using it in advertisements or circulars, would be to admit the right, and at the same time destroy it. It follows, then, that the right to use the name in every form passes to the public with the dedication resulting from the expiration of the patent.
But it does not follow, as a consequence of a dedication, that the general power vested in the public to make the machine and use the name imports that there is no duty imposed on the one using it, to adopt such precautions as will protect the property of others, and prevent injury to the public interest, if by doing so no substantial restriction is imposed on the right of freedom of use. This principle is elementary, and applies to every form of right, and is generally expressed by the aphorism, 'Sic utere tuo ut alienum non ledas.' This qualification results from the same principle upon which the dedication rests; that is, a regard for the interest of the public and the rights of individuals. [163 U.S. 169, 187] It is obvious that if the name dedicated to the public, either as a consequence of the monopoly or by the voluntary act of the party, has a two-fold significance, one generic and the other pointing to the origin of manufacture, and the name is availed of by another without clearly indicating that the machine upon which the name is marked is made by him, then the right to use the name because of its generic signification would imply a power to destroy any good will which belonged to the original maker. It would import not only this, but also the unrestrained right to deceive and defraud the public by so using the name as to delude them into believing that the machine made by one person was made by another.
To say that a person who has manufactured machines under a patented monopoly can acquire no good will by the excellence of his work, or the development of his business, during the patent, would be to seriously ignore rights of private property, and would be against public policy, since it would deprive the one enjoying the patent of all incentive to make a machine of a good quality, because at its termination all the reputation or good will resulting from meritorious work would be subject to appropriation by every one. On the other hand, to compel the one who uses the name after the expiration of the patent to indicate that the articles are made by himself in no way impairs the right of use, but simply regulates and prevents wrong to individuals and injury to the public.
This fact is ful y recognized by the well-settled doctrine which holds that, although 'every one has the absolute right to us his own name honestly in his own business, even though he may thereby incidentally interfere with and injure the business of another having the same name, in such case the inconvenience or loss to which those having a common right are subjected is damnum absque injuria. But although he may thus use his name he cannot resort to any artifice, or do any act calculated to mislead the public as to the identity of the busienss firm or establishment, or of the article produced by them, and thus produce injury to the other beyond that which results from the similarity of name.' Cement Co. v. Le Page, 147 Mass. 206, 208, 17 N. E. 304; Pillsbury [163 U.S. 169, 188] v. Flour-Mills Co., 24 U. S. App. 395, 404, 12 C. C. A. 432, and 64 Fed. 841; Croft v. Day, 7 Beav. 84; Holloway v. Holloway, 13 Beav. 209; Wotherspoon v. Currie, L. R. 5 H. L. 408; Montgomery v. Thompson [163 U.S. 169, 1891] App. Cas. 217; Howard v. Henriques, 3 Sandf. 725; Meneely v. Meneely, 62 N. Y. 427; Lawrence Manuf'g Co. v. Tennessee Manuf'g Co., 138 U.S. 537 , 11 Sup. Ct. 396; Chemical Co. v. Meyer, 139 U.S. 540 , 11 Sup. Ct. 625; Coats v. Thread Co., 149 U.S. 562 , 13 Sup. Ct. 966. Where the name is one which has previously thereto come to indicate the source of manufacture of particular devices, the use of such name by another, unaccompanied with any precaution or indication, in itself amounts to an artifice calculated to produce the deception alluded to in the foregoing adjudications.
Indeed, the enforcement of the right of the public to use a generic name, dedicated as the results of a monopoly, has always, where the facts of a monopoly, has always, where the necessary regulation to make it accord with the private property of others and the requirements of public policy. The courts have always, in every such case without exception, treated the one as the correlative or resultant of the other.
In Manufacturing Co. v. Riley (1882) 11 Fed. 706, where a suit was brought to restrain the use of the word 'Singer' by the defendant in connection with sewing machines, the preliminary injunction was refused, following the decision in the Stanage Case. The court called attention to the fact that the word 'Singer' was not used on defendant's machines. It made no ruling as to the duty of the defendant to so use the name 'Singer' as not to deceive, because it found that the defendant's devices were not calculated to mislead.
In Brill v. Manufacturing Co. (1884) 41 Ohio St. 127, it was held ( page 137 et seq.) that, as Singer machines had been protected by patents, and during the existence of such patents became known and identified in the trade by their shape, external appearance, or ornamentation, the patentee could not, after the expiration of the patent, prevent others from using the same modes of identification, in machines of the same kind, manufactured and sold by them. It was also held that the Singer machines had become known to the public by a distinctive name during the existence of the patent, and that any one at the expiration of the patent might make and vend such machines and use such name.
It would appear that the name 'Singer' had not been, directly or indirectly, marked upon the machines. It might also be inferred from the report of the case that the designation of defendant's machine was accompanied by a statement as to [163 U.S. 169, 191] who was the manufacturer. At all events, the court did not discuss the obligation of the defendant to avoid misleading, since, under the facts, the question did not arise.
The machines manufactured by the defendant, upon which was stamped the name 'Universal,' also bore the name of their maker.
The principles thus maintained by the American cases are also supported by the English decisions.
'It appears to me, therefore, that there has been neither infringement of any essential part of the plaintiffs' trade-mark nor any attempt on the part of the defendants to represent the goods which they intended to sell as goods made by the plaintiffs.' Page 838.
Nor is there anything in the Scotch case of Manufacturing Co. v. Kimball, 11 Ct. Sess. Cas. (3d Series) 267, or the English cases of Manufacturing Co. v. Wilson, 3 App. Cas. 376, 2 Ch. Div. 434, and Manufacturing Co. v. Loog, 8 App. Cas. 15, and 18 Ch. Div. 412, which in any way contravene the doctrines heretofore stated. In the Kimball Case, the fact that there had been no patents in England was expressly referred to, the court finding that for many years prior to 1870 machines like Singer machines had been manu- [163 U.S. 169, 196] factured under various names in England and Scotland by other parties than the Singer Company. It was upon these facts that the court based the right of the Singer Company to an exclusive trade-mark in the name. Indeed Lord Ardmillon (page 276) expressly declared that he regarded the facts above stated as distinguishing the case from the Shakespear Case, supra.
This distinction is also true of Manufacturing v. Wilson and Manufacturing Co. v. Loog. In neither was there a claim of a generic description as a consequence of a monopoly, and it becomes, therefore, needless to review these cases at length. It may, however, be said that both these cases recognize the right of a party in his advertising matter to state that his machines were constructed upon the Singer system or model.
'In principle, a surname is inalienable, and each one keeps the imprescriptible ownership in it. We know, however, that when the name of the inventor has become the designation of the thing patented, it belongs to every one at the expiration of the patent, to make use of this designation.' Pouillet, Brevets D'Invent on, p. 280, 329.
'Whereas, without doubt, the methods of manufacture of a patented product fall into the public domain after the expiration of the patent, but it is otherwise as to the name of the inventor, and that this rule suffers no exception, except in the case where, either by long usage or in consequence of a consent either expressly or tacitly given by the inventor, his surname having become the sole usual designation of his invention, it is employed to indicate the mode or the system of manufacture, and not the origin of the particular manufacture.
'Whereas, it is declared by the judgment appealed from, that Claude Bully has never manifested an intention to indissolubly bind up or unite his name for the benefit of his invention,' etc.
The result, then, of the American, the English, and the French doctrine universally upheld is this: That where, during the life of a monopoly created by a patent, a name, whether it be arbitrary or be that or the inventor, has become, by his consent, either express or tacit, the identifying and generic name of the thing patented, this name passes to the public with the cessation of the monopoly which the patent created. Where another avails himself of this public dedication to make the machine and use the generic designation, he [163 U.S. 169, 200] can do so in all forms, with the fullest liberty, by affixing such name to the machines, by referring to it in advertisements, and by other means, subject, however, to the condition that the name must be so used as not to deprive others of their rights, or to deceive the public; and, therefore, that the name must be accompanied with such indications that the thing manufactured is the work of the one making it, as will unmistakably inform the public of that fact.
It remains only to apply these legal conclusions to the facts already recapitulated. Of course, from such application all claim of right, on the part of plaintiff in error, to prevent the use of the name 'Singer' is dispelled. This leaves only two questions: First, whether that name, as used in the circulars and advertisements of the defendant, is accompanied with such plain information as to the source of manufacture of the machines by them made as to make these circulars and advertisements lawful; and, second, whether this also is the case with the use of the word 'Singer' on the machines which the defendant makes and sells. As to the first of these inquires, the proof shows that the circulars were so drawn as to adequately indicate to any one in whose hands they may have come that the machines therein referred to were made by the June Manufacturing Company, and not by the Singer Company. We therefore dismiss the circulars from view. As to the advertisements, without going into etails, some of those offered in evidence were well calculated to produce the impression on the public that the Singer machines referred to therein were for sale by the June Manufacturing Company, as the agent or representative of the Singer Company.
On the second question the proof also is clear that there was an entire failure on the part of the defendant to accompany the use of the word 'Singer,' on the machines made and sold by him, with sufficient notice of their source of manufacture, as to prevent them from being bought as machines made by the Singer Manufacturing Company, and thus operate an injury to private rights and a deceit upon the public. Indeed, not only the acts of omission in this regard, but the things actually done, give rise to the overwhelming implication that [163 U.S. 169, 201] the failure to point to the origin of manufacture was intentional, and that the system of marking pursued by the defendant had the purpose of enabling the machines to be sold to the general public as machines made by the Singer Company.
The marks on the machines are found on the oval plate and on the device cast in the leg of the stand. On the first of these (the oval plate) the words 'Improved Singer' are found in prominent letters, unaccompanied by anything to indicate that the machines were manufactured by the June Company, except the words 'J. M. Co.' and the monogram 'J. Mfg. Co.' The shape of the plate, its material, the position in which it was placed upon the machines, its size, its color, the prominence given to the words 'Improved Singer,' all could have conveyed but one impression to one not entirely familiar with the exact details of the device upon the Singer Company's plates, and that is that the machine was one coming from the factory of the Singer Company. So, in the second (the device cast in the legs of the stand), the word 'Singer,' alone without any qualification, is there found in bold relief, and above this the word 'I. S.' and in small letters 'J. Mfg. Co.' The similarity between the letter J. and the letter S., the failure to state in full the name of the manufacturer, the general resemblance to the device of the Singer Company, the place where it was put, which had no necessary connection with the structure or working capacity of the machines, and the prominence of the casting of the word 'Singer' in comparison with the other mark, brings out in the plainest way the purpose of suppressing knowledge of the actual manufacturer, and suggesting that it was made by the Singer Company. It is significant of the fraudulent purpose of the defendant that the device which the Singer Company cast in the legs of its machines was only by them adopted after the expiration of the patents and the resulting cessation of the monopoly, and for the avowed purpose of distinguishing their machines from others which had come upon the market; and therefore the colorable imitation which the defendant immediately proceeded to make had no necessary connection with the right to make machines according to the Singer system, [163 U.S. 169, 202] and to call and sell them as Singer machines in consequence of their dedication to the public. But there are other circumstances in the record which throw light upon the facts which we have just stated, and lend to them an increased significance. On the plate of the Singer machines there was plainly marked a number, which the proof shows had run with relatively accurate consecutiveness from the beginning. These numbers, as a result of the vast development of the business of the Singer Company and the enormous number of New Family machines sold by them, ran into the millions. The defendant, who was in the commencement of his business, at once began also to number his machines in the millions, thereby conveying the obvious impression that they were the result of a manufacture long established, and as they were marked 'Singer' suggesting, by an irresistible implication, that they were machines made by the Singer Company. There is an attempt in the evidenc to explain this fact by the statement that it was the habit of sewing-machine makers to add three figures to the actual number of machines by them made, but the proof does not sustain the explanation, and if it did, it amounts to but the contention that the commission of a fraud should be condoned because others were guilty of similar attempts to deceive. There is another significant fact. On the machines made by the Singer Company there was a tension screw. This screw on the Singer machines served a useful mechanical purpose, and did not pass into the public domain with the expiration of the fundamental patents, because specially covered by a subsisting patent. The defendant, in making his machines, placed thereon a dummy screw, serving no mechanical purpose whatever, and which could have had no object but that of producing the impression that his machine was made by the Singer Company.
The right to use the word 'Singer,' which caused the imitative infringement in the device, being lawful, it is plain that the infringement only resulted from the failure to plainly state, along with the use of that word, the source of manufacture, and therefore this branch of the question is covered by the same legal principle by which we have determined the other. [163 U.S. 169, 204] It follows, therefore, that the judgment below, which recognized the right of the defendant to make or vend sewing machines in the form in which they were made by him-that is, like unto the machines made upon the principles of the Singer system-with the use of the word 'Singer,' without a plain and unequivocal indication of the origin of manufacture, was erroneous.
Therefore the decree below must be reversed, and the cause be remanded, with directions to enter a decree in favor of complainant, with costs, perpetually enjoining the defendant, its agents, servants, and repres ntatives,-First, from using the word 'Singer,' or any equivalent thereto, in advertisements in relation to sewing machines, without clearly and unmistakably stating in all said advertisements that the machines are made by the defendant, as distinguished from the sewing machines made by the Singer Manufacturing Company; second, also perpetually enjoining the defendant from marking upon sewing machines or upon any plate or device connected therewith or attached thereto the word 'Singer,' or words or letters equivalent thereto, without clearly and unmistakably specifying in connection therewith that such machines are the product of the defendant or other manufacturer, and therefore not the product of the Singer Manufacturing Company. And the decree so to be entered must also contain a direction for an accounting by the defendant as to any profits which may have been realized by it because of the wrongful acts by it committed.

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