Iawes v. Antisbel
U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Eastern Michigan
[This was a bill in equity by Charles L. Hawes against William W. Antisdel for the alleged infringement of letters patent No. 63,-889, granted to plaintiff April 16, 1867, for an advertising hotel register. The defendant alleged that the idea patented was in common use before the date of the patent.)
1Opinion of the Court
LONGYEAR, District Judge.
The patent carries with it a presumption of novelty of the thing patented, and the burden of rebut*857-ting that presumption is upon the defendant. In order to defeat the patent on the ground of want of novelty, the proof of prior use or previous knowledge must be such as to establish the fact clearly and satisfactorily, and beyond a reasonable dpubt. Where the proofs are contradictory, mere preponderance is not sufficient to sustain the allegation. The preponderance in such case must be such as to remove all reasonable doubt.
In Wood v. Cleveland Rolling Hill Co. [Case…
2Cited by1 opinion
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