Corbin Cabinet Lock Co. v. Eagle Lock Co.

Citations

• 150 U.S. 38
• 14 S. Ct. 28
• 37 L. Ed. 989
• 1893 U.S. LEXIS 2346

Syllabus

<p>The first claim under the reissued letters patent No. 10,361, issued to Henry L. Spiegel, July 31, 1883, for improvements in cabinet locks, is void because it broadens and expands the claims in the original patent, and it does not appear that there was any accident, inadvertence, or mistake in the specification and claim of the original, or that it was void or inoperative for any reason which would entitle the patentee to have a reissue.</p> <p>When an applicant for letters patent makes a broad claim which is rejected, and he acquiesces in the decision and substitutes a narrower claim therefor, he cannot insist upon a construction of the narrowed claim which would cover what was so rejected.</p> <p>To warrant new and broader claims in a reissue, they must not only be suggested or indicated in the original specification., drawings, or models, but it must appear that they constitute part of the invention intended to be covered by the original patent.</p> <p>In applications for reissue the patentee cannot incorporate claims covering what had been rejected on the original application.</p> <p>Letters patent No. 316,411, granted April 21, 1885, to Henry L. Spiegel for improvements in cabinet locks are void for want of pateutable invention.</p>