Asseff v. Kingsland, Commissioner of Patents

This is an appeal from a judgment of the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia dismissing appellants’ complaint, brought under Section 4915 of the Revised Statutes, 1 for authorization of a patent. The application was for an improved high pressure lubricating oil consisting of a hydrocarbon oil plus certain additives which latter curtail ring clogging and corrosion of pistons and bearings.

The Patent Office denied the application, on the ground that it lacked invention and was the result of a natural course of experimentation using the knowledge of prior patents. The…