Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/816

* INVASION. 720 INVENTORY. property not contributing to the uses of war must remain intact. The removal by the Ger- ninns of the astronomical instruments from the O^bservatory of Peking durin<; the recent expedi- tion of the -Allies against the Chinese capital was n violation of this rule. The attitude of an invader toward private persons and property has been clearly delined; init, thovijih pillage is strictly forbidden, this restriction dm's not insure absolute security for an enemy's property. Private persons taking no part in the conflict are to remain unmolested, but inhabitants of an invaded district aiding their country forfeit ])rotection. and are subject to military execution, though the interests of hu- manity are conserved by this distinction between soldier and non-combatant. Property movable and immovable is to remain uninjured. Tf nwded by the hostile army, the invading general may ref|uire its sale at prices fixed liy iiiiiisclf, or even on occasions require their contribution with- out payment ; but marauding nnist be checked by discipline and penalties. Such forced con- tributions of food, forage, labor, wagons, rail- road rolling-st(x-k, or <ither means of transporta- tion are called rc(|uisitions. See CoNTHiiirTiox ; CoNQlE.ST; and also I.n'TERNATIonal L.w and the authorities there referred to. INVEC'TA ET ILLA'TA (Lat. nom. pi., carried in uul borne in I. An expression of the civil law. fouid also in the law of Scotland, to denote all things which a tenant has brought upon the premises, as his household furniture, tools, utensils, etc., and which are sid)ji'ct to the lien, or tacit mortgage, of tin- landlord for the rent of the premises. The English and .meriean legal system in general recognizes no siicli lien, the landlord's remedies being confined to dis- tress ((j.v.) and to an action at law for the rent due. INVECTED (from Lat. invecliis, p.p. of in- vchere, to carry in. from in. in + vchcre, to carry). A partition line in heraldry (q.v.). INVENTION (Lat. inventio, finding out, from iniiiiiir. to find, from in, in + venire, to come). Literally, an act of making something not liefore made; also, the new thing produced. In the law of patent rights the tenn invention is specifically ap|)lied to any new and useful art, maeliine. manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, which when invented may under certain condi- tions be made the subject of the rights of a letter patent. In Great Britain the patent law expressly restricts such inventi<ms to a 'new manufacture,' but the courts have construed this term so that it includes the four classes of in- ventions above named. Although it has been held that in the patent law 'discovery' and 'inven- tion' are sjTionynRnis. in popular language and in much legal literature the term 'invention' has come to be used commonly to designate a 'patentable' invention, or one that is 'new' and useful. To constitute ftn invention in this sense there nuist be a creating or origination of some useful thing that did not exist before, by means of an operation of the intellect. The extent of research and the simplicity or complexity of the result are of no importanoe, if the invention be new and useful, and be something more than a construc- tion following the beaten track of mechanical experience. Neither is any distinction made as to degree of usefulness or the anmunt of mechanical .skill involved in the construction or making of the invention, so long as the usefulness or skill be not 80 slight as to make it negligible. It is no objection that the inventor was aided or as- sisted by ideas deriveil from others, as long as the final concrete product invented Ik? something more and distinct from any one or all of these ideas or suggestions. The dilliculty in drawing the line as to what is and what is not an inven- tion is great. Mere simplicity is no objei'tion, and, indeed, may constitute the real excellence and newness of the invention. Ni'ither is the use or application of old devices or machines an objection, for most [latents are issued upon in- ventions based partly >ipon preexisting inventions, . mere ailvance or extemled application of an original invention, changed only in degree, and doing substantially the same thing in the same way by the same means, but with better results, is not an invention. There nuist be a new idea grafted upon the old invention. By reason of the dilMculty here referred to, the law is liberally ap- plied (o protect everything that might be pro|>erly called new and useful. See Patent: and consult the authorities there referred to. The title was also given by ,T. S. Bach to a collection of .SO short pieces in contrapuntal style, each developing only one theme. There are 15 two-part and 15 three-|>art inventions. INVENTION OF THE CROSS. See Cross, Invention ok the. INVENTORY (from Lat. inrcniarium, list, from Lat, invcnire, to find, from in, in + veiure, to come; connected with Gk. §a.lveiv, hainein, Skt. qnm, to go, and ultimately with Eng. come). A written instrument setting forth in the form of a .systematic schediU' all the goods, chattels, and other personal property of a person or estate, whether for use in a legal proceeding or for ordinary commercial purpo.ses. The term and the legal practice connected with its use originated in the reform of the Homan law instituted by .Tustinian to relieve the heir of a deceased person from his personal liability. In order to relieve the heir, and at the same time to protect creditors and legatees, a law was enacted under which the heir was relieved of all liability for the debts and legacies of his ancestor, excepting in so far as the property inherited by him woulil enalde him to dis- charge the same, provided that within a <-ertain time he should duly prepare ami file a written in- stnnncnt containing a correct enumeration of all property, real and personal, left by the deceased, if there was a surplus the heir was required to distribute it. See Heir. Until about two centuries after the Norman Conquest, the identification of heir and ancestor was as complete under the English law as it had been imder the Roman law before the above-men- tioned reforms of .Justinian. About that time, partially through the inlluence of the Roman law, the heir's liability was limited to the amount of property descending to him: executors or administrators superseded him for the purpose of administration of his ancestor's estate, and the Roman practice of making an inventory of the assets of the estate was introduced. This plan was probably adopted more for the practical advantage of compelling the personal representa- tives of the deceased to commit themselves at