Morris v. McMillin
Supreme Court of the United States
APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA. The bill was filed against the appellants to restrain the infringement of -letters patent granted to John S. McMillin, one of the appellees, dated April 16, 1867, for “ a new and useful improvement in applying steam power to the capstans of steamboats and other crafts.”
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APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA. The bill was filed against the appellants to restrain the infringement of -letters patent granted to John S. McMillin, one of the appellees, dated April 16, 1867, for “ a new and useful improvement in applying steam power to the capstans of steamboats and other crafts.” The invention as described generally in the specification consisted “ in connecting the capstan with the freight-hoisting engine or other engine of steamboats by means of shafts and cog wheels, so as to operate the capstan by steam…
1Opinion of the CourtJustice Woods
He stated the facts in the foregoing language, and continued:
We are of opinion that the patent is open to the fatal objection that the device covered thereby did not, in vieiv of the ■ state of the art, involve the exercise of invention, and Avas therefore not patentable.
The simply working of a capstan by means of steam is not claimed, but, in the amended specification filed February 7, 1856, is expressly disclaimed. The capstan and the auxiliary engine are both old, the device, consisting in an arrangement of shafts and cog wheels by which the power of the engine is applied to the capstan,…
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