LAW REPORTS

OF

PATENT CASES.

ELLIOTT v. ASTON.

In the Court of Common Pleas, before Mr. Justice Coltman, and a Special Jury, June 23rd, 1840.

THIS was an action brought by the plaintiff against the defendant for infringing a patent granted to the plaintiff on the 14th day of December, 1837, for "Improvements in the Manufacture of Covered Buttons." The declaration was in the usual form, to which the defendant pleaded, First, not guilty. Second, that the instrument in writing inrolled was as follows (setting out the whole specification *), and averred

* The specification was as follows:

"Now know ye, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said William Elliott, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, (that is to say) :—

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My invention relates to that description of covered buttons, with flexible shanks, which are made by the aid of dies and pressure, in contradistinction to the covered buttons made by sewing the external woven fabric on to shapes by the needle. My invention having for its object to produce buttons of a more elegant description, and of a more finished character than have heretofore been manufactured, by the application of certain elegant fabrics, not hitherto employed in the making of such buttons. It may here be stated that there are several modes of making such description of buttons, differing in some degree from each other. The first is the plan known as Mr. Sanders' method, for which he obtained letters patent, bearing date the 13th day of October, 1825, but which letters patent were not sustained.

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Bayerische Staatsbibliothek * München

that the said Elliott did not, pursuant to the proviso in the said letters patent, by the said instrument in writing, par

"Secondly, there is a plan which has been much pursued, and is well known as Mr. Aston's mode; and,

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Thirdly, a plan was invented by Benjamin Aingworth, for which he obtained letters patent, bearing date the 30th day of August, 1832; and I have mentioned these inventions in order to state that I do not claim the making of covered buttons, with flexible shanks, by the aid of dies and pressure, but only improvements in their manufacture; and further to state that my invention is more or less applicable to all such modes and variations of such modes of making covered buttons, with flexible shanks; my invention more particularly relating to the covering of the face, or front surface of the button, without reference to the modes of making flexible shanks, and without reference to the interior construction of the button, so long as the buttons are made by the aid of dies, or such like tools and pressure, and not covered by hand with the needle. According to the present modes of making such covered buttons with flexible shanks, the woven fabric (of which the face or front surface of the buttons has been covered) has been such, that a circular disc or portion of the cloth might be cut at any part of the woven cloth or fabric, owing to the face or front surface of the woven fabric being the same all over; hence, from whatever place a cover for a button might be cut, it would be precisely like (or so nearly like as not to be readily discovered) all other of the covers for buttons produced from any other parts of the same piece of cloth or woven fabric (mostly of silk); and although fancy weavings of silk and other materials have been used in covering such buttons, the fabrics for such covers have been such, that a circular disc or portion for covering might be taken indifferently from any part of the piece of fabric, and from whatever parts the covering of any two or more buttons might have been taken, the buttons would be precisely alike, or so nearly alike as to be sufficiently alike as to be worn side by side, without one appearing to have any irregularity of surface, not possessed by another; but till my invention, such covered buttons with flexible shanks made by pressure had not been manufactured, or made with covers of the descriptions of fabrics hereafter stated, having marked and definite designs produced in the weaving of the fabric, in the centre of each button, such invention requiring that the woven figured fabric should be so cut into disc or circular portions, and the same so worked in dies or tools, as to bring the figure or design in a central position, in respect to the face or front of the button; and further, in the act of making the buttons, not injuriously to press on the surface where the pattern, particularly in such cases where the pattern or design stands much above the ground of the woven fabric, as in the case when the design or pattern is of weavings, known as 'terry velvet,' that is, where certain of the threads of the warp in weaving (to produce the pattern), have wires laid in (when the warp is open), which wires are withdrawn, leaving small loops which stand above the surface of the ground-work of the fabric, a height depending on the thickness of the draw-wires used; and it is well known that according to this system of weaving the greatest possible variety of figures or designs may be produced on different grounds of weaving; those I prefer for the grounds on which the central designs are to be produced, are satin and tabby weavings.