Legal Opinion

Rich v. Close

U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Northern New York

Decided October 15, 1870PublishedCited by 3 opinions

This was an action on the case [by Julia Rich, administratrix, against Beroth Close] for the infringement of letters patent [No. 2,70S] granted to Reuben Rich, July 8th, 1842, for an “improvement in water-wheels.” The specification called the improvement the “pressure center-vent water-wheel.”

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This was an action on the case [by Julia Rich, administratrix, against Beroth Close] for the infringement of letters patent [No. 2,70S] granted to Reuben Rich, July 8th, 1842, for an “improvement in water-wheels.” The specification called the improvement the “pressure center-vent water-wheel.” The specification said: “The nature of my invention consists in receiving the water on the wheel at its periphery, from the flume, by a spiral conductor, and discharging it as soon as it passes the buckets, thus giving the full action of the water, and relieving the wheel of its weight, as soon as it…

1Opinion of the Court

WOODRUFF, Circuit Judge.

There is some reason to apprehend that the patentee, in this case, failed to secure to himself all that he might have secured, if he had not restricted his claim, as the inventor, to a mere combination. The argument of the plaintiff's counsel assumes, that the combination of a spiral conductor with a water wheel open at the bottom, through which the water would fall freely after passing through ogee buckets constructed as described in the specification annexed to the patent, was his invention; and this assumption does find some color in the language of the…

2Cited by3 opinions

  1. United States Glass Co. v. Atlas Glass Co.U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Western Pennsylvania · 1898
  2. Computing Scale Co. v. Keystone Store-Service Co.U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Western Pennsylvania · 1898
  3. Foamite-Childs Corp. v. Pyrene Mfg. Co.Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit · 1929

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