Houghton v. United States

PARKER, Circuit Judge.

This is an appeal from a decision that the United States is the equitable owner and entitled to the assignment of a patent issued to the defendant Houghton, who, when he made the invention which is the subject thereof, was an employee of the Public Health Service in the Treasury Department. The facts are fully stated in. the opinion of the court below. U. S. v. Houghton (D. C.) 20 F(2d) 434. Those necessary to an understanding of the questions involved in this appeal can be stated very briefly.

Houghton was a trained chemist holding a degree from a university. He was…