Charles Miner v. Employers Mutual Liability Insurance Company of Wisconsin

Plaintiff-appellant’s complaint in the District Court alleged that a form of insurance policy devised and copyrighted by him had been copied by the appellee. The complaint rested in part at least on the theory that the substance of the coverage given by plaintiff’s policy, namely, insurance against loss from failure to record chattel mortgages and like instruments, cannot be provided by other persons or companies without infringing his copyright. That theory must fail: others remain free to compete by offering similar coverages. See Dorsey v. Old Surety Life Insurance Co., 10 Cir., 1938, 98…