Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 8.djvu/935

 THE VIGILANT. 921 �to a patentable invention, and the other is whether the defendants iufringe. �It was quite desirable and useful to have the means of reg^lating the tension accessible to the right hand as well as to the left of the operator. Placing the thumb-screw at the top of the face-plate wonld do it, if mechanism could be contrived to adjust the dises by the thumb-screw at that place. Such mechanism had to be devised before it could be made by mere mechanical skill. Miller devised it, and the effort must have arisen above mechanical to inventive skill. When done it -was new, as distinguished from the old, and appears to have been well patentable. The defendants have taken the thumb- screw in its new position, and made it accomplish the same resuit as Miller did, by substantially equivalent means, in substantially the same way. Miller was not an inventor of the whole, se as to be entitled to cover every form of device of that kind accomplishing the same resuit, but was entitled only to bis own particular improve- ment, and the defendants might take any other form so long as they left that to him. But here they have taken the principal thing pre- cisely as be arranged it, and have only changed the forms of the minor parts by taking well-known equivalents. These changes may be improvements upon his, but, if they are, the defendants have taken his patented invention to improve upon, which is not allow- able. �Let there be a decree for the orator for an injunction and an account, according to the prayer of the bill, with costs. ���The Vigilant. ���[Viar'rf Court, E. D. New York. June 2, 1881.) �1. Damage— TuG and Tow— Stuanding m Cbeek. �Where a tng, taking a canal-boat up a narrow creek, only navigable at high water, grounded by careless navigation, and, the tow left to itself, also gTounded and received damage in consequence, held, that the tug was liable for such damage, it being her duty to keep herself ofE the bank so as to control the movements of the tow and prevent injury to it. �J. A. Hyland, for libellant. 0. A. Payne, for respondent. �Benedict, D. J. This action is brought to recover of the steam- tug Vigilant the damages resulting from a stranding of the canal- ��� �