allow of the extension of the patent for the term of seven years, In the Privy considering that the circumstance of its not having been brought Council. extensively into use is explained by the evidence. Report accordingly. JONES'S PATENT. Cor. Lord Brougham; Parke, B.; Bosanquet, J.; Dr. Lushington. This was an application by the assignee for an extension of July 8, 1840. the term of letters patent, granted the 10th of October, 1826, to T. Jones, for "a certain improvement or improvements in wheels for carriages" (a). Sir F. Pollock and Godson appeared in support of the petition. The Attorney General (Sir J. Campbell) said, that he did not intend to make any objection to the extension on the ground of any supposed want of validity, which he had reason to believe could be satisfactorily established, having been proved on a trial at law (b), but he felt it his duty to submit that there was no reasonable prospect of its being beneficial to the patentee or his assignee, in which case the public ought not to be precluded from the use of it. Sir F. Pollock: The only way in which the public would have an immediate benefit from the invention, would be by permitting the assignee to have the further use of the patent; for if, after the loss he had sustained, he was to be driven from the trade, the invention would probably fail as far as the public were concerned, for want of that support which he alone could give. The papers containing the advertisements were put in (c); also three deeds-the first conveying a fourth of the patent to Riddle, the second a fourth to Piper, and the third the remaining half to Riddle and Piper, the petitioners. Mr. Brunel and other witnesses described the nature of the Evidence. (a) See the specification, ante 120. (b) In Jones v. Pearce, ante 122. The grounds of the rule nisi for a new trial in that case do not appear in that report, but in the course of these proceedings they were stated to be-first, no sufficient evidence of infringement, the defendant not having sold any wheel, and having one only in his possession; secondly, misdirection, the jury having been directed that an abortive attempt to bring a principle into use did not prevent another from taking out a patent for an invention on the same principle, and bringing it into successful use. (c) The "Gazette" of the 24th and 28th of April, and 1st of May; the "Times," "Chronicle," and "Standard," of the 28th of April, containing the advertisements of the notice of application; and the "Gazette" of July 3d, the "Times" and "Chronicle" of July 2d, containing the notice of the day appointed for the hearing. In the Privy invention, and explained the superiority of iron wheels made according to the patent over other iron or wooden wheels: that the wheels of a carriage intended to move great weights-as, large blocks of stone-if of wood, must be nearly solid; these were extremely liable to get out of order, and shrink, and be unfit for use. The patent wheels would be much lighter than iron wheels made on the old principle, that is, supporting the weight from beneath and not from above by suspension. Considerable difficulty was experienced at first in making the tire of the wheels. The machinery had been repeatedly altered, and great expense incurred from that source, and in experiments for reducing the cost of the wheels. The great difficulty was with the tire, which did not attain its present state of perfection till within about six years. There had been no departure from the specification. The concern on the whole had been a losing one; the total amount of loss, exclusive of interest on the capital, during the whole term, was £15,389-and with interest, £28,474; during the last seven years the loss has been £15,505. This loss has been principally owing to the cost of machinery-the capital expended in obtaining machinery for the different parts of the wheel; £7284 had been expended in machinery patterns, tools, implements, forges, and premises. About 2500 pairs of wheels had been made. The relative cost of a pair of patent iron and wooden wheels of the same size is £11 and £7; but the expense of keeping up the latter is greater than the former; the latter will wear out in about two years, whereas the former will last four years, and when worn out several parts may be used again. The prejudice against the wheels among the makers of carts and carriages is very strong. So much difficulty had been experienced in getting the wheels applied to carriages, that the petitioners had recently taken to making the bodies as well as wheels of carriages. During the last two years considerable quantities had been exported to the West Indies and other places. The patentee was examined as to his having any knowledge of Mr. Strutt's invention. He stated that he had never heard of any thing of the kind until the trial for the infringement of his patent-the mode pointed out in the specification is now pursued in making the wheels; the various deviations were attempted for the purpose of saving expense, but the parties had returned to the precise mode pointed out in the specification-the difficulty of rolling the wrought iron rim led to the trial of cast iron, but that proved too heavy; the present rim is of better dimensions than those made at first, and of a better kind of iron-there is nothing in the present wheel which is not described in the specification, except some improvement in the nave for the purpose of keeping in the oil. The Attorney General said, that he should not dispute that In the Privy the present was to be considered a valid patent, but he sub- Council. mitted that there was not a sufficient case made out to call for an extension of the term, there appearing no reasonable ground to suppose that a benefit would accrue to the petitioner which would counterbalance the loss to the public from the continuance of the monopoly. Sir F. Pollock: It has been made out that a very considerable part of the loss has arisen from the necessity of the patentees making their own machinery. The demand was not such as to induce the manufacturers to comply with their wishes, and they were obliged to make their own experiments, and get premises, and erect a forge for themselves. The proprietors of the patent, perceiving the great expense, and expecting that, by diminishing the cost or by having a more perfect article to sell, they would be more successful, went on making experiments, but eventually returned to the specification, and expect that by an extension of the term they shall be enabled to retrieve a part of their loss. term to afford had to the na Lord BROUGHAM: It is perfectly true, as has been stated, Judgment. not only upon this but upon former occasions, that these applications are any thing rather than matters of course. This is a very extraordinary jurisdiction which has been conferred on the judicial committee by the legislature, and is to be exercised only on the most special grounds alleged and proved in reference to each case. Their lordships are of opinion, that in this The insufficiencase the grounds are most decisive, and have been proved in a cy of the usual most satisfactory manner. From the nature of the invention it remuneration, appears to be hardly possible that, within the ordinary period regard being of time, ten, twelve, or fourteen years, a remuneration could be ture of the inexpected. In this case it is clearly proved, not only that vention, a ground for the there was no remuneration, but that every year a very heavy extension of the loss has been sustained. Under these circumstances their lordships are of opinion, that unless they give the whole term of seven years, there is no reasonable chance of that loss being counteracted by the profit to the parties now in possession of the patent. Their lordships are therefore of opinion, that in the circumstances of the case, and regard being had to the merits of the invention and its usefulness to the public, the whole period of seven years' extension should be granted. Report accordingly (d). term. (d) The new letters patent were granted accordingly to G. Riddle and T. Piper for seven years. Title. Specification. WALTON'S PATENT. Letters patent 27th of March, 1834, to James Walton, for 66 certain improvements in cards for carding wool, cotton, silk, and other fibrous substances.” I, the said James Walton, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention to consist in the application and adaptation of the material known by the name of caoutchouc or India rubber, as a substitute for the fillets or sheets of leather which are commonly used in the construction of ordinary cards, and thus giving a superior elasticity and durability to such cards. And I do hereby describe the manner in which my said invention is to be performed by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the drawing annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say,-Figure 2 represents an elevation of a card constructed with an India rubber or caoutchouc foundation or fillet as shown at a a, in which the wire dents, or teeth, are inserted, and the regularity of distance and uniformity of the dents or teeth of the cards are found to be better preserved by a piece of linen, commonly called brown holland, or other the like cloth, well glazed and cemented on to the back of the caoutchouc or India rubber, as shown by a red line at bb. The cloth bb when fastened to the caoutchouc continues to keep the dents or teeth more firmly in their places when in use, and the foundation or fillets being thereby made much stiffer, the action of the dents or teeth is less uncertain in their elastic movements. The cloth so cemented to the Indian rubber or caoutchouc is to be affixed to the cylinder or board in the ordinary carding engine by nails, but if it is to be affixed by cementing, then it is desirable to remove the cloth, which in this case should only be slightly attached to the India rubber, and this will be found the best mode of applying the cards thereon. When the cards are constructed by hand, it is essential that the cloth bb should be first pricked by an engine (as is the practice when leather is used) to regulate the distance and required uniformity of the dents or teeth, and in cases where cloth is introduced between two layers of caoutchouc or India rubber as represented by the red line at figure 3, the India rubber or caoutchouc is pricked or pierced in a similar manner to enable the card maker to force the dents or teeth through it without bending or injuring their form or shape, but the pricking of the holes may be effected by the patent machinery of Mr. Dyer, of Manchester, now in use for that purpose. It may be as well here to observe, that when I mention cement in this specification I always allude to what is now generally called India rubber cement, and which as it has now become an article of general sale, and may be bought by that name, I do not think it neces- Specification. sary further to describe the same; but as the machines for cutting India rubber are not generally known, and as I prefer caoutchouc or India rubber in the state it is imported for my purpose, I will now describe the means which I use for cutting the caoutchouc or India rubber into layers from the solid blocks as imported, and which I recommend in preference to what is termed manufactured India rubber, or India rubber first dissolved by some solvent, and then cast in moulds to form blocks, the former being most suitable for the purpose. I first cut the block lengthwise into suitable sizes, according to the nature of the cards to be manufactured, and then place the flat or regular surface of the block on a metallic surface, which moves freely between two guides, the exact thickness of the sheet of caoutchouc or India rubber which it is designed to cut off, and it will be evident that, by varying the thickness of the metallic surface, a proper thickness of caoutchouc will be cut off,-a sharp knife kept occasionally wet with water, and supported on guides, is then pressed with a sawing action against the India rubber or caoutchouc by the operator at the same time that he forces the India rubber or caoutchouc forwards between the guides by turning the roller n, and thus severs or cuts off a piece of the exact thickness required. The pieces thus cut off may be joined together to form fillets or sheets according to the nature of the card intended to be made, and when the teeth or dents are set therein, may be nailed to the board in the usual manner, or cemented on it. *(a) * * * The advantages presented by cards of this construction consist in the superior elasticity of the caoutchouc or India rubber, allowing the dents or teeth to be pressed down without material injury to the card, at the same time the teeth or dents are sufficiently firm to perform the carding or raising operation, and even though the dents or teeth should be pressed down to the surface of the caoutchouc or India rubber of the card, they would not be bent, but immediately recover their former position by the elasticity of that substance. Again, in substituting cards of this construction in the place of teasels or ordinary wire cards, for the purpose of raising the pile of woollen and other cloths, I am enabled to work them wet, without any material variation of the elasticity of the caoutchouc or India rubber, which remains more uniform in its action, and effects the operation of raising the pile of woollen and other cloths more regu (a) The specification having described the manner in which the invention is to be performed, proceeds to describe further, by reference to the drawing, the machinery and apparatus for cutting the India rubber and pointing the teeth, but these formed no part of the invention. The specifica The reader tion then proceeds as in the text. |