Enoch Morgan's Sons Co. v. Ward
Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Appeal from the Circuit Court of the United States for the Eastern Division of the Northern District of Illinois. Appellant’s bill for alleged infringement of two trade-marks was dismissed for want of equity. In 1869 appellant’s predecessor, the firm of Enoch Morgan’s Sons, put on the market a scouring soap for general household use. In connection with its Introduction they adopted two marks. One was a word, then coined by them, “Sapolio.”
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Appeal from the Circuit Court of the United States for the Eastern Division of the Northern District of Illinois. Appellant’s bill for alleged infringement of two trade-marks was dismissed for want of equity. In 1869 appellant’s predecessor, the firm of Enoch Morgan’s Sons, put on the market a scouring soap for general household use. In connection with its Introduction they adopted two marks. One was a word, then coined by them, “Sapolio.” The other was a pictorial representation, then designed by them, of “a human face observing itself reflected in a pan.” The business has been carried on…
1Opinion of the CourtBaker, Circuit Judge
A manufacturer may put forth his goods in a dress, in no element of which — size, shape, color,. lettering, word, or symbol — has he an exclusive right of use; and yet, if the ensemble has come to be a public guaranty of origin and quality, he may secure protection against the unfair trade of a preying competitor. His right to exclude others from using the dress, if an analogy to the patent law may be drawn, is like the right of the patentee who claims a new combination of old elements. In such a case, “we should look at the matter as a whole, both at the resemblances and the differences to…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- Lawrence Manufacturing Co. v. Tennessee Manufacturing Co.Supreme Court of the United States · 1891
- Church & Dwight Co. v. RussU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Indiana · 1900
- Postum Cereal Co. v. American Health Food Co.Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1902
- American Grocery Co. v. SloanU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern New York · 1895
3Cited by25 opinions
- Induct-O-Matic Corporation v. Inductotherm CorporationCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 1984
- Rosenberg Bros. & Co. v. ElliottCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit · 1925
- James Heddon's Sons v. Millsite Steel & Wire Works, Inc.Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 1942
- Layton Pure Food Co. v. Church & Dwight Co.Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · 1910
- Layton Pure Food Co. v. Church & Dwight Co.Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · 1910
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