Richards v. Chase Elevator Co.
Supreme Court of the United States
APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS. This was a' bill in equity for the ‘infringement of letters-patent No. 308,095, issued November 18, 1881, to the plaintiff Richards, for a grain transferring apparatus.
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APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS. This was a' bill in equity for the ‘infringement of letters-patent No. 308,095, issued November 18, 1881, to the plaintiff Richards, for a grain transferring apparatus. The purpose o^ the invention, as stated by the patentee, was “ to provide improved means for transferring and weighing grain without mixing different lots or loads with each other, thus preserving the identity of each lot while it is being transferred from one car to another.” The device in question was substantially one for shifting…
1Opinion of the CourtJustice Brown
While patent cases are usually disposed of upon bill, answer, and proof, there is -no objection, if the patent be manifestly invalid upon its face, to the point being raised on demurrer, and the case being determined upon the issue so formed. We have repeatedly held that a patent may be declared invalid for want of novelty, though no such defence be set up in the answer. Dunbar v. Myers, 94 U. S. 187; Slawson v. Grand Street Railroad, 107 U. S. 649; Brown v. Piper, 91 U. S. 37.
The patent in question is for the combination of, (1) a fixed or stationary building ; (2) two railway tracts; (3) an…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Brown v. PiperSupreme Court of the United States · 1875
- Dunbar v. MyersSupreme Court of the United States · 1876
- Slawson v. Grand Street RailroadSupreme Court of the United States · 1883
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- American Fibre-Chamois Co. v. Buckskin-Fibre Co.Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 1896
- Zephyr American Corporation v. Bates Mfg. Co.Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit · 1942
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