Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 9.djvu/55

 eO FEDERAL REPORTER. �Still & Bro. V. Reading and others. �{Gircuit Court, W. D. Texas. August 26, 1881.) �1. Letters Patent — Licessors— Thbir Bight to Maintain Actions against Inpbikgers. �A patentee, who has sold the exclusive right to use hisinvention for a term of years short of the full life of the pateut, eau maintain an action for aa infringement. i. Samb— Pleading. �The petition, however, is demurrable, unless it afflrmatively appears that the alleged infringer is not using the invention under the authority of the licensee. �Walton, Green e Hill, Hancock e West, and J, W. Robinsoii, for plaintiffs. �S. S. Boyd, for defendants. �TuBNER, D. J. The plaintiffs in their petition allege that on the eighteenth day of September, 1877, they obtained letters patent from the United States govemment for the exclusive right to use, make, and vend their new invention, and known as the "Still saddle- trees;" that on the fifteenth day of January, 1878, petitioners con- tracted with one J. S. Sullivan & Co., of Jefferson City, in the State of Missouri, and sold to the said J. S. Sullivan & Co. the exclusive right to use their said invention, except that the plaintiffs reserved the right to use their own invention in their two shops in Texas ; that said con- tract with J. S. Sullivan & Co. was to continue in force for the term of five years ; that the letters patent granted to them (the petitioners) was to secure, and did secure, to them the exclusive right to use and control their said invention for the term of 17 years. The petition alleges that these defendants have infringed their right secured to them by said letters patent by the use of their invention in the construc- tion of saddle-trees, etc., since the first day of January, 1880, up to the time of .filing their suit. The petition alleges that in the sale of the use of their invention to J. S. Sullivan & Co, it was agreed that said J. S. Sullivan & Co. should pay to the plaintiffs a certain sum of money for each saddle-tree made, used, etc. ; that the defendants, by using plaintiffs' saddle-trees, and by sales of saddles, etc., have deprived them of their just rights as patentees, and have, in fact, infringed upon their patent, and thus deprived them of the royalty that they would be entitled to if they had secured their right to make said saddle-trees under a contract with J. S. Sullivan & Co. The petition alleges that defendants are not using their invention by their ��� �