Schumacher v. Cornell

1. Letters-patent No. 133,536, granted Dec. 3, 1872, to William Johnson, for an improvement in wrenches, do not infringe reissued letters-patent No. 5026, granted Aug. 6, 1872, to John Lacey and George B. Cornell, for an improvement in wrenches for extracting bung-bushes.

2. The doctrine of mechanical equivalents has no application to this case.

APPEAL from the Circuit Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

This is a suit by George B. Cornell, against Eilert Schumacher and William Johnson, for an injunction, and for damages claimed for the alleged infringement by them of reissued letters-patent No. 5026, granted Aug. 6, 1872, to John Lacey and George B. Cornell, for an improvement in wrenches for extracting bung-bushes; said letters being a reissue of original letters No. 118,617, dated Aug. 29, 1872.

The defendants justified under letters-patent No. 133,536, issued to Johnson Dec. 3, 1872, for an improvement in wrenches.

The specification and claim of both patents are fully stated in the opinion of the court.

The drawing therein referred to are as follows:--

The court below decreed in favor of the complainant, and awarded him an injunction, whereupon the defendants appealed to this court.

There was no infringement. Curtis, Patents, sect. 249; Prouty v. Ruggles, 1 Story, 568; s. c. 16 Pet. 336; Winans v. Schenectady & Troy Railroad Co., 2 Blatchf. 279; Bell v. Daniels, 1 Fish. Pat. Cas. 372; Fuller v. Yentzer, 94 U.S. 288; Gill v. Wells, 22 Wall. 1; Gould v. Rees, 15 id. 187; Vance v. Campbell, 1 Black, 427.

There is no room in this case to invoke the doctrine of mechanical equivalents. Seymour v. Osborne, 11 Wall. 516; Gould v. Rees, supra; Gill v. Wells, supra.

Mr. L. L. Bond, contra, cited Curtis, Patents, sect. 332, 453-458; Blanchard v. Biers, 2 Blatchf. 418; Sewall v. Jones, 91 U.S. 171; Root v. Ball, 4 McLean, 177; Alden v. Dewey, 1 Story, 336; Haworth v. Hardcastle, Web. Pat. Cas. 484; Ransom v. Mayor, &c., 1 Fish. Pat. Cas. 252; Whipple v. Middlesex Co., 4 id. 41; Winans v. Denmead, 15 How. 330.

Mr. William P. Lynde for the appellants.

MR. JUSTICE SWAYNE delivered the opinion of the court.