United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Clough v. Barker, 106 U.S. 166 (1882)

Clough v. Barker

Decided November 27, 1882

106 U.S. 166

Syllabus

1. The claims of letters patent No. 104,271, granted to Theodore Clough, June 14, 1870, for an "improvement in gas burners," infra, p. 106 U. S. 168, are valid, and they are infringed by a burner constructed in accordance with the description contained in letters patent No. 105,768, granted to John F. Barker, July 26, 1870, for an "improvement in gas burners."

2. A burner set up as anticipating Clough's invention, if used now in a way in which it was never designed to be used and was not shown to have ever been used before his invention, might be made to furnish a supplementary supply of gas. It was not, however, designed for the same purpose as his burner, and no person looking at it or using it would understand that it was to be used in the way that his was used, and it was not shown to have been really used and operated in that way. Held that it does not amount to his invention.

3. The combination of the first claim of Clough's is new, and he, having first applied a valve regulation of any kind thereto, is entitled to hold as infringements of the second claim all valve regulations applied to such a combination which perform the same office in substantially the same way as, and were known equivalents for, his form of valve regulation.

The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.

Page 106 U. S. 167