International Silver Co. v. Simeon L. & George H. Rogers Co.

110 F. 955
CourtU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Connecticut
DecidedAugust 15, 1901
DocketNo. 1,068
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 110 F. 955 (International Silver Co. v. Simeon L. & George H. Rogers Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
International Silver Co. v. Simeon L. & George H. Rogers Co., 110 F. 955 (circtdct 1901).

Opinion

SHIPMAN, Circuit Judge.

This is a motion for a preliminasy injunction. Some of the historical facts in this case also existed in R. W. Rogers Co. v. Wm. Rogers Mfg. Co., and were stated in 17 C. C. A. 576, 70 Fed. 1017, as follows: “About, forty years ago, three brothers, by the name of Rogers, composed a firm in Connecticut under the style of 'Rogers Bros.' This firm first applied the art-of electro.-plating to the manufacture of silver-plated ware in this country, and acquired by steadfast integrity a high reputation for the •sterling quality of their ware, and the name of 'Rogers Bros.’ stamped upon the báck of the goods also obtained a widely extended reputation.” A corporation called the “Wm. Rogers Manufacturing Company” was “the successor of the business established in 1865 by William Rogers, one of these brothers, and was after 1872 enga[957]*957ged 'in manufactttring and selling silver-plated ware, and continued the trade-marks upon such goods which its predecessor adopted in i860, viz. ‘1865, Win. Rogers Mfg. Co.,’ and ‘Wm. Rogers & Son.’ ” It also used, from and after 1877, the following mark: “[Figure of Anchor] Rogers [Figure of Anchor].” “Two other corporations acquired from one or more of these brothers the right to use the name ‘Rogers’ also, and for a number of years last past the goods of these corporations, called in the speech of the public, ‘Rogers goods,’ have maintained a high character and a well-known reputation.” One of these corporations was the Meriden Britannia. Company, which adopted, in 1862, as a trade-mark; the following: “1847, Rogers Bros.” Another corporation, Rogers & Bro., established in Waterbury, Conn., used as a trade-mark “[Star] Rogers & Bro.” In May, 1898, the complainant, called the “International Silver Company,” was formed, which bought or acquired the entire capital stock or properties of 14 silver-plating corporations, including the William Rogers Manufacturing Company, the Meri-den Britannia Company, and the Rogers & Bro., and obtained by purchase or assignment the ownership of all their trade-marks, and now owns and controls the business of all the original Rogers companies, with the good will and trade-marks of each. The manufacture of the same goods to which their trade-marks were applied is continued by the complainant, the trade-marks are applied, the trade-mark goods are advertised as aforetime, and the exclusive right to the use of these marks is in fact, and is considered to be, of great value. To the goods formerly manufactured by the corporations not entitled to use the Rogers marks the trade-marks are not applied. In May, 1898, “when the consolidation took place, the factory of the William Rogers Manufacturing Company was in Hartford. William H. Watrous was, and had been from 1879, its president and controlling manager, and ivas well known as a practical and skillful manufacturer; John McFadyen was, and had been for many years, its superintendent; and Samuel McFadyen had been also for many years its treasurer and bookkeeper. These officers were of known reputation and skill in their respective departments. The manufacturing business was continued in the same factory, and these gentlemen remained in the positions which they had formerly occupied until December 8, 1900, when the two MFFadyens resigned. Watrous resigned as president and manager in January, 1901, and in March, 1901, resigned as a director of the complainant. On October 3, T900, a corporation with a nominal capital of $200,000 was organized in Maine under the name of “Rogers Bros. Mfg. Company,” to carry on, among other things, the silver-plating business. Simeon T. Rogers, George H. Rogers, John McFadyen, Samuel McFadyen, and Henry F. Cram, of Portland, Me., each subscribed for 1 share, and 1,995 shares remained unissued. On January 16, 1901, the name was changed to “Simeon B. and George H. Rogers Company.” .It established a factory in Hartford, and silver-plated ware was first put upon the market about the last -week of February, 190T; and by May, 1901, it began to do a little business, which has gradually increased, and-apparently has been ■ vigorously pushed.-[958]*958Simeon L. Rogers and George H. Rogers were the sons of Simeon S. Rogers, one of the three brothers who composed the original firm of Rogers Bros. George H'. Rogers has, either as tenant or employe, been a farmer and had no connection with the business of silver-plating until this company was formed. Simeon L,. Rogers was born in 1844, and died July 21,' 1901. At the termination of the Civil War he learned the business of burnishing, and for years worked in various silver-plating shops in New.Britain, Waterbury, and Shelton a.s a maker of blanks for plating. From September, 1888, to September, 1900, he was pressman in the forge department of the Silver-Plate 'Cutlery Company in Shelton, was engaged in cutting out steel knives and forks on the press upon an average compensation of $2.50 per day. He was not a manufacturer, but was a workman upon wages by the day or week. Mr. Watrous was a nephew of Simeon S. Rogers, and the two McFadyens are brothers of Mrs. Watrous. On July 21, 1901, Simeon H. Rogers and George H. Rogers, each owned 49 shares of the capital stock of the defendant company, of the par value of $4,900. The two amounts are said to be “about one-eighth of the capital stock which has been subscribed for and issued up to” August 10, 1901. From February 20, 1901, to May 10, 1901, the silver-plated wares of the defendant were marked as follows: “[Maltese Cross] Rogers [Maltese Cross],” “[Cross] Rogers Bros. [Cross],” “[Cross] S. L. & G. IT. Rogers [Cross].” The cross was dropped, and from April 20, 1901, to May 10, 1901, an acorn wps substituted, and the goods were marked as follows: “[Acorn], Rogers [Acorn],” “[Acorn] Rogers Bros. [Acorn].” The acorn was then dropped, and from May 10, 1901, the goods have been stamped as follows, the letters “S. L,. & G. H. Co.” appearing in monogram: “S. L. & G. H. Rogers Bros.,” “S. L. & G. H. Rogers Co.” It will be remembered that the Meriden Britannia Company, and its successor, the complainant, have continuously used “1847. Rogers Bros.,” and that the William Rogers Manufacturing Company and its successor have continuously used “[Anchor] Rogers [Anchor].” The monograms of the defendant, when reduced to the size necessary for stamping them upon the back of a spoon or fork, are too small to be easily deciphered by a person with no previous knowledge of their meaning. Such a person simply understands that they represent something, and consequently the name “Rogers” or “Roger Bros.” is both the prominent and the legible imprint upon the article. I have mentioned only the trademark rights which appertained to these corporations, without reciting their history, or the history of the trade-mark rights of any other corporation. It is unnecessary to go more minutely into that part of the case, because the history of the various Rogers marks has been two or three times the subject of careful analysis in the Connecticut court of last resort. Britannia Co. v. Parker, 39 Conn. 450, 12 Am. Rep. 401; Manufacturing Co. v. Simpson, 54 Conn. 527, 9 Atl. 395; Rogers v. Rogers, 53 Conn. 122, 1 Atl. 807, 5 Atl. 675, 55 Am. Rep. 78.

It can hardly.be denied that the defendant has no right to the use of.“Rogers Bros.” or of “1847, Rogers Bros.,” or of “[Anchor] Rog[959]*959ers [Anchor]”; but it is said, “We have a right to the use of our whole name, and we prefix our initials to ‘Rogers Bros.’ and to ‘Rogers,’ and we add to ‘Rogers’ the letters ‘Co.’ ” In point of fact, these prefixes and suffixes are obscure, and, to the ordinary observer, enigmatical. They actually convey no meaning.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
110 F. 955, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/international-silver-co-v-simeon-l-george-h-rogers-co-circtdct-1901.