Griggs v. Perrin
U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Northern New York
In Equity. Motion for a preliminary injunction. The complainant is the owner of a copyright of a book, written by J. George Cross, entitled “Eclectic Short-Hand.” At the January term, 1890, a motion was made for a preliminary injunction. The defendants denied infringement. The issue thus raised was referred to a master to take proofs and report.
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In Equity. Motion for a preliminary injunction. The complainant is the owner of a copyright of a book, written by J. George Cross, entitled “Eclectic Short-Hand.” At the January term, 1890, a motion was made for a preliminary injunction. The defendants denied infringement. The issue thus raised was referred to a master to take proofs and report. The master reported that the complainant’s work as a literary production only was protected; that the system of phonetic writing explained in the book is not the subject of a copyright; and that there is no proof that the defendants have copied…
1Opinion of the Court
Coxe, District Judge.
The only question decided by the master and discussed at the argument is whether or not the copyright of a book describing a new art or system of stenography protects the system, when considered simply as a system, apart from the language by which the system is explained, so that another who illustrates the same system in a different hook, employing totally different language, can be treated as an infringer. It is thought, upon the authority of Baker v. Selden, 101 U. S. 99, that the master was right in the conclusion reached by him. A party may invent a new machine and…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Baker v. SeldenSupreme Court of the United States · 1880
3Cited by8 opinions
- Burk v. JohnsonCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · 1906
- Continental Casualty Company v. BeardsleyDistrict Court, S.D. New York · 1957
- Muller v. Triborough Bridge AuthorityDistrict Court, S.D. New York · 1942
- Brief English Systems, Inc. v. OwenCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 1931
- Barnes v. MinerU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern New York · 1903
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