Hodge v. Hudson River R.

12 F. Cas. 272, 3 Fish. Pat. Cas. 410, 6 Blatchf. 85, 1 Am. Law T. Rep. U.S. Cts. 40, 1868 U.S. App. LEXIS 1365
CourtU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern New York
DecidedApril 8, 1868
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 12 F. Cas. 272 (Hodge v. Hudson River R.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hodge v. Hudson River R., 12 F. Cas. 272, 3 Fish. Pat. Cas. 410, 6 Blatchf. 85, 1 Am. Law T. Rep. U.S. Cts. 40, 1868 U.S. App. LEXIS 1365 (circtsdny 1868).

Opinion

BLATCHFORD. District Judge.

The motion in the suit against the Hudson River Railroad Company will be first considered. The several acts of infringement alleged in. [273]*273that suit are: (1) The running, by the Hudson River Railroad Company, between East Albany and Troy, of cars belonging to the Kew York and Harlem Railroad Company, provided with infringing brakes; (2) the running, by the Hudson River Railroad Company, across the bridge of the Hudson River Bridge Company, at Albany, of cars belonging to the Hudson River Railroad Company, containing infringing brakes; (3) the running, by the Hudson River Railroad Company, upon their own railroad, at or near Peekskill, in the Southern district of New York, of cars marked “New York, Sus. Bridge & Buffalo,” and of cars known as “sleeping cars” and “drawing-room ears,” containing infringing brakes, which cars are alleged not to have belonged to the Hudson River Railroad Company; (4) the running, by the Hudson River Railroad Company, on the tracks of the Troy and Greenbush Railroad Company, and on the tracks of the Troy Union Railroad Company, of cars belonging to the Hudson River Railroad Company, containing infringing brakes; (0) the running, by the Hudson River Railroad Company, on their railroad, of freight cars, not belonging to themselves, .known as the “White Line,” containing infringing brakes (it being assumed that such running was within this district) ; (6) the operating, by the Hudson River Railroad Company, of cars of the “Blue Line,” not belonging to themselves (it being assumed that such operating was on the railroad of said company, and within this district.)

The first, second and fourth alleged infringements occurred within the Northern district of New York. The causes of action growing therefrom arose, therefore, within that district, and, under the provisions of the sixth section of the act of April 3, 181S (3 Stat. 415), this court has no original jurisdiction of such causes of action.

In regard to so much of the third alleged infringement as relates to cars marked “New York Sus. Bridge & Buffalo,” and in regard to the fifth and sixth alleged infringements, the Hudson River Railroad Company show that they own, and rim upon their road, cars marked “New York, Sus. Bridge & Buffalo,” and also freight cars known as “White Line” ears, and “Blue Line” cars, and that they cannot say whether the cars so marked, referred to in the affidavit on the part of the plaintiffs, were the ears of the Hudson River Railroad Company or not. If the cars referred to did not belong to the Hudson River Railroad Company, it is for the plaintiffs to show the fact affirmatively, or else, on the evidence, it must be assumed that such cars did belong to that company. The plaintiffs have not shown that such cars did not belong to that company. They should have designated the particular cars by numbers, or other sufficient description, so as to have required and enabled the defendants to show whether such cars were or were not their property. In regard to so much of the third alleged infringement as relates to cars known as “sleeping cars” and “drawing-room cars,” the Hudson River Railroad Company show that the trucks and running gear, including the brakes, of such cars, belong to that company.

The only question for consideration, therefore, is, whether the company, by using the patented brake, within this district, on their own railroad, on cars belonging to them, marked “New York, Sus. Bridge & Buffalo,” and on cars belonging to them known as “White Line” cars, and on cars belonging to them known as “Blue Line” cars, and by using the patented brake, within this district, on their own railroad, on sleeping cars and drawing-room cars, the brakes, trucks, and running-gear of which cars belonged to them, have infringed the patent in question, as extended. It is understood, that all the alleged infringements set up occurred in November, 1867, and therefore since the extension of the patent. The company justify such use,' under a license granted to them by the patentee, April 8th, 1862, whereby he-licenses them “to construct and use said improvement on any and all cars belonging to said company, and to use the same improvement upon the entire length of their road, and upon all parts thereof, extending from the city of New York, in the state of New York, to the city of Troy, in said state, for and during the term for which said letters patent are or may be granted.” Brakes belonging to the company, attached to trucks and running-gear belonging to them, and so used, are, undoubtedly, within the meaning of the license, used on cars belonging to the company, even though the superstructures which are borne upon the trucks do not belong to the company. The license, therefore, covers all that has been thus done by the company, that is, the use of the patented improvement on cars belonging to the company, on their own railroad, so far as the extent of their acts is concerned. As to the duration of the license, nothing is said, in the license, about an extension of the patent. The license is to continue “for and during the term for which said letters patent are or may be granted.” The first question that arises is, as to the meaning of these words, “may be,” and whether they refer to or can be construed to include an extended term of the patent. I do not think there is any thing in the license to indicate that the parties to it had at all in view a continuance of the license during any extended term of the patent. The provision that the license is to continue “during the term for which said letters patent are or may be granted,” is satisfied by holding it to apply exclusively to a reissue of the patent. There is nothing in the language which makes it exclusively or even necessarily applicable to an extension. The presumption of law in regard to every license under a patent is, that the parties deal in regard only [274]*274to the term existing when the license is given, unless an express provision is inserted looking to a further interest. Wilson v. Rousseau, 4 How. [40 U. S.) 646, 685, 686. Unless there be such a stipulation, showing that the parties contemplated an extension, the court is bound to construe the instrument, in each and all of its provisions, as relating to the then existing term only. Gibson v. Cook [Case No. 5,393]. The language of the license in the present case is very different from the language of the instrument in the case of Phelps v. Comstock [Id. 11,070]. In that case, the language was, “to the full end of the term or terms for which letters patent are or may be granted for said improvements.” The court held that that language embraced any subsequent extension of the patent. So, also, in Case v. Redfield [Id. 2,494], where the court held that the language of the instrument embraced an ex-tention, the language was, “all the right, title, and interest * * * in said invention and improvement, as secured * * * by said letters patent, for the whole of the United States, * * * for which letters patent were or may be granted for said improvements.” In Glum v. Brewer [Id. 2,909], where the court held that the parties intended to cover an interest in any extension, the language was, “one undivided fourth part of my said invention, and of all my rights and property therein, secured by my said caveat or otherwise, that I have or may have from any letters patent for the same, granted by the government of the United States and within the limits thereof.” In Pitts v. Hall [Id. 11,193], where the court held that there was no doubt that the parties intended, by the language used, to refer to and provide for an extension, the language to that effect was clear and unambiguous.

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Bluebook (online)
12 F. Cas. 272, 3 Fish. Pat. Cas. 410, 6 Blatchf. 85, 1 Am. Law T. Rep. U.S. Cts. 40, 1868 U.S. App. LEXIS 1365, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hodge-v-hudson-river-r-circtsdny-1868.