Bush & Lane Piano Co. v. Becker Bros.
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
On appeal from a final decree of the District Court of; the United States for the Southern District of New York entered in an action based upon a design patent for a piano case granted to Walter Lane of Chicago, Ill., July 25, 1905, for the term of seven years. The court found the patent valid and infringed and referred it to a master to assess the amount of damages and profits.
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On appeal from a final decree of the District Court of; the United States for the Southern District of New York entered in an action based upon a design patent for a piano case granted to Walter Lane of Chicago, Ill., July 25, 1905, for the term of seven years. The court found the patent valid and infringed and referred it to a master to assess the amount of damages and profits. The master found that there was due the complainant on account of such infringement the sum of $35,640.61. The final decree was entered on September 9, 1914, in favor of the complainant for $36,541.15. The decision of…
1DissentWard, Circuit Judge
I cannot agree with the conclusion of the court as to the extent of the complainant’s recovery. The value of a design patent is as a seller of the article to which the design is applied. The profits attributable to it cannot be traced as can profits due to greater economy, durability, or efficiency in the case of -other patents. So long as the law required the owner of a design patent to do this, he could get only a nominal recovery. It was to correct this rule as laid down in Dobson v. Dornan, 118 U. S. 10, 6 Sup. Ct. 946, 30 L. Ed. 63, that Congress enacted chapter 105, Laws 1887.…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Callaghan v. MyersSupreme Court of the United States · 1888
- Dobson v. DornanSupreme Court of the United States · 1886
- Untermeyer v. FreundU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern New York · 1892