United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Cortelyou v. Johnson & Co., 207 U.S. 196 (1907)

Cortelyou v. Charles Eneu Johnson & Company

No. 32

Argued October 31, November 1, 1907

Decided December 2, 1907

207 U.S. 196

Syllabus

In this case, this Court follows the unanimous opinion of the Circuit Court of Appeals that defendant did not have sufficient notice of the license restriction to be charged with contributory infringement, even if that doctrine exists, for selling ink to the vendee of a patented printing machine, sold under a license restriction that it should be used only with ink made by the patentee.

Where none of the executive officers of a manufacturing corporation knew of the license restriction under which a patented machine was sold, notice to a salesman, who was not an officer or general agent of the corporation, was held insufficient to charge the corporation with notice as to future sales of the article manufactured by it to the licensee and used by the latter in violation of the license restriction.

142 F.9d 3, affirmed.

The facts are stated in the opinion.

Page 207 U. S. 198