...obvious as soon as they are made public. Of others, the scientific world may possess itself by analysis. Some inventions almost baffle discovery. But to entitle...sold by the inventor only, makes the patent void. It is in evidence that a great quantity was sold in the course of four months before the patent was...

...held by the court, that on this account the patent was utterly void. Lord Chief Justice Gibbs said: "To entitle a man to a patent, the invention must be new to the world. The public sain of that which is afterwards made the subject of a patent, though sold by the inventor only, makes...