United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Brush v. Condit, 132 U.S. 39 (1889)

Brush v. Condit

No. 9

Argued October 15-16, 1889

Decided November 4, 1889

132 U.S. 39

Syllabus

Claims 1, 3, 5 and 6 of reissued letters patent No. 8718, granted May 20, 1879, to Charles F. Brush for "improvements in electric lamps," the original patent, No. 203,411 having been granted to said Brush May 7, 1878, are invalid by reason of their prior existence as perfected inventions in a lamp made in June, 1876, by one Hayes.

Although claims 5 and 6 speak of an "annular clamp," and the apparatus of Hayes had a rectangular clamp, the latter embodied the principle of the invention carried out by equivalent means, the improvement, if any, in the use of the circular clamp over the rectangular clamp being only a question of degree in the use of substantially the same means.

In equity for the infringement of letters patent. Decree dismissing the bill, from which the plaintiffs appealed. The case is stated in the opinion.