Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 8.djvu/831

 NEW AMEBICAN FILE 00. «. NICHOLSON WLE CO. 817 �2. Section 15, Act of 1836, Constbded— Extension. �The act of 1836, providing that extensions of letters patent might be granted to any patentee, subject to certain conditions, Tield, not to discriminate against those which, by the act of 1839, providing for the granting of pateiits for inven- tions previously patented abroad, are limited to 14 years from the date of such foreign patent. �S. Previous Fobeign Patents— Limitation of, dpon United States Patents — Eablieb Fobeign Patent— Subsequent Porbign Patent. �The act of 1839 requiring the commissioner to limit a patent, previously patented abroad, not to the shortest term of any such foreiga patent, 'but to 14 years from the date of the earliest of such patents, the existence of any subse- quent foreign patent is immaterial ; theref ore, the private act of congress passed July, 1864, enacting that the grant of the Uhited States patent should be valid for 14 years from its date, rather than from the dat&of the French patent, cured the only defeot in the grant that existed. r,. �In Equity. Demurrer. �Wm. M. Douglas and Ghauncey Smith, for complainant. Benj. F. Thwrston, for defendant. Before Lowell and Colt, JJ. �LowBLt, C. J. The facts set eut in the bill and admitted by the demurrer are as follows : �Etieme Bernot, of Paris, France, was the inventer of a new aud useful machine for eutting files, and obtained letters patent therefor in France, August 31, 1854, and in Great Britain, March 27, 1855. On the third day of July, 1860, he applied for letters patent of the United States. They were granted him July 24, 1860, for 14 years from that day. He assigned this American patent to George Somerville Norris, of Baltimore. In July, 1862, a private act of congres? was passed (12 St. 909) reciting the grant of the American patent, and enacting that it should be a valid grant for the full term of 14 years from its date.notwithstanding the fact that it ought to have beeu granted only for the term of 14 years from the date of the French patent. The second section provides that the titie of Norris, the assignee, should be good and valid to vest in him the " executive right under the'said patent for, the full period of the term of 14 years from the date of said patent, in like man- ner and to the same extent as if the said patent, when originally issued, had been validly granted for 14 years from the datethereof." Bernot died in 1873, and his administrator, before the twenty-third day of July, 1874, presented his petition to the commissioner of patents for an extension of said letters patent, and the commissioner did extend them, accordingly, for the term of seven years from July 24, 1874. They have been duly assigned to the plaintifl corpo- ration, and the defendants have infringed upon the rights thereby granted. �The demurrer raises the question whether the commissioner had �power to extend this patent? The statute of 1836, § 15, (5 St. 124,) �gave to every patentee the right to apply for an extension, and it was �to be given him if he satisfied the ofiScial persons therein mentioned �v.8,no.ll— 52 ��� �