Howe v. Morton

12 F. Cas. 663, 1 Fish. Pat. Cas. 586, 23 Law Rep. 70, 1860 U.S. App. LEXIS 574
CourtU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Massachusetts
DecidedMarch 8, 1860
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 12 F. Cas. 663 (Howe v. Morton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Howe v. Morton, 12 F. Cas. 663, 1 Fish. Pat. Cas. 586, 23 Law Rep. 70, 1860 U.S. App. LEXIS 574 (circtdma 1860).

Opinion

SPRAGUE, District Judge.

I will now state the result at which.I have arrived in both cases. As the matters involved in these two cases are complicated, and as I have no notes, and speak from memory merely, I may omit some of the considerations which have brought me to the conclusion at which I have arrived. I believe, however, that I can state the reasons of my decision sufficiently to enable the counsel to understand the most material grounds upon which I proceed.

Here are two applications for preliminary injunctions, made to the court at the same time, in two distinct suits, founded on Howe’s sewing machine patent, dated September 10, 1846. One suit is against the Williams machine, so called, and the other is against three different machines, called respectively the Sloat, the Johnson, and the Gibbs machine.

The defense relied upon is, that there is no infringement. The validity of Howe’s patent is conceded. It is not impeached for the want of novelty, or as embracing too much in its claim of invention; nor is it contended that it does not embrace all that he did, in fact, invent.

The question is, whether the defendants have infringed. The various patents introduced, granted prior to this of Howe, have been introduced not to show his patent to be invalid for want of novelty, but to ascertain what there is new in it, by showing what was before known.

The inquiry is, what is there in common between the defendants’ machines and the Howe machine, which is not in common between the Howe machine and the prior ones? or, in other words, what do the defendants use that belongs to Howe? It being taken for granted that whatever is new in Howe’s machine belongs to him,-and is secured by his patent; and it oeing insisted that nothing of that which is new and secured by his patent, is used by the defendants in their machines. So that it is the question whether the defendants do use what belongs to Howe by his patent.

And here I would, remark that this inquiry excludes'various matters which have, properly enough, been gone into, as to. the diversities between the defendants’ and Howe’s machines. No matter what the diversities are; or what additions to or modifications of Howe’s original invention have been made by the defendants, if these new improvements are ingrafted upon Howe’s invention, secured to him by his patent. The defendants may have taken Howe’s machine as the basis and means from which to make their improvements. If they have taken what belongs to Howe, they have infringed, although with the improvements the machine may be much more useful than it would be without them. This is a well-known principle or patent law.

We are to inquire what there is in the defendants’ machines that is taken from Howe’s; and this induces the necessity of a comparison, in the first place, between Howe’s patent and what was prior, in order to determine what there is in Howe’s that is novel.

In examining Howe's patent, let us look, in the first place, at the summing-up, the first claim in which is as follows: “The forming of the seam by carrying a thread through the cloth, by means of a curved needle on the end of a vibrating arm, and the passing of a shuttle, furnished with its bobbin, in the manner set forth, between the needle and the thread which it carries, under a combination and arrangement of parts substantially the same with that described.”

It is with this general claim that I shall have to deal. In giving a construction to a claim we must look at the specification which precedes it: and this is especially necessary in this case, because the claim makes express reference to the specification.

The summing-up begins by claiming the forming of the seam. That is a result, fine real claim, as subsequently stated, is for the means by which that result is reached, namely, by carrying a thread through the cloth, by means of the needle at the end of the vibrating arm, and then carrying the [665]*665shuttle with its hohhin between the needle and its thread, under a combination and arrangement of parts substantially as described.

Some discussion has been had, whether this is to be deemed a claim for a combination, or a claim for a machine. I do not think it necessary to classify this claim, and. to draw deductions from such classification. That is generally an unsafe mode of reasoning. I shall deal with the language of the claim and the specification as I find them, and apply the principles of law. ■

The patentee uses the words “.combination and arrangement.” I shall use the word “combination,” not in any special sense, but as expressing a union of parts, co-operating to produce one result Now, that claim would be substantially the same as it is, if it had used merely the latter part — if it had said: “ I claim the forming of the seam by a combination and arrangement of parts, as hereinbefore described.” Of what parts? The parts necessary for the accomplishment of the end. It specifies some of those parts in the beginning of the summing-up, namely: the needle carrying its thread through the cloth; the shuttle carrying its thread between the needle and its thread; and then, without any further specification of the parts; says, “under a combination and arrangement of the parts substantially as herein described.” It specifies the needle and shuttle, and shows that these are some of the parts to be taken into view in the claim. But suppose it had omitted that enumeration of parts, and had said: “I claim the forming of the seam, by a combination and arrangements of parts substantially as herein described.” When we look at the previous description we see that the needle and its thread, and the shuttle and its thread, are a part of the previous description, and therefore, would be embraced in a general statement that he claims that combination and arrangement of the parts of the machine, substantially as described, used for the purpose of forming the seam.

Looking at it then, as a claim for the general combination and arrangement of the parts described, what is there in it that is new? I may state, in general terms, that •there is a mechanism for forming the stitch; and mechanism for holding the material to be sewed, which we denominate the cloth; and a mechanism for feeding the cloth; and all these general elements in combination and in an arrangement set forth in the specification.

Now, we must look at some of the subcom-binations, as I should term them. And I do this because a great portion of the argument treated the general combination as if composed .only of simple elements, whereas, there may be subcombinations entering into the general combination.

We find, in the first place, the kind of stitch made by Howe, which I shall denominate the interlocking stitch. He uses two threads, and by the mechanism which he describes, he interlocks the threads, forming a loop by carrying the needle and its thread double through the cloth, and then carrying the shuttle and its thread between the needle and its thread through that loop, and thus interlocking the threads as the first* step toward forming the stitch. Then we find the holding apparatus, consisting of two surfaces fixed against the doth; these surfaces being one, one side of the shuttle-box, and the other plate X; the plate X being adjusted according to the thickness of the cloth which is to pass between these two surfaces; and the statement that it is adjusted according to the thickness of the doth, shows that it is intended to press upon and hold the cloth. These are the holding surfaces — stationary holding surfaces. '

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Related

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39 F. 795 (U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Massachusetts, 1889)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
12 F. Cas. 663, 1 Fish. Pat. Cas. 586, 23 Law Rep. 70, 1860 U.S. App. LEXIS 574, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/howe-v-morton-circtdma-1860.