General Electric Co. v. Wise

Citations

• 119 F. 922
• 1903 U.S. App. LEXIS 5437

Syllabus

<p>1. Patents—Injunction against Infringement—Defenses.</p> <p>That a defendant ist able to respond in damages is no defense to an application for an injunction against infringement of a patent. If the patent is valid, the owner has the absolute right to be protected in the exclusive use of the invention which the law secures to him during the term of the patent.</p> <p>3. Same—Violation of Anti-Trust Law.</p> <p>That a complainant is a member of. a combination in violation of the anti-trust law of July 2, 1890 [U. S. Comp. St. 1901, p. 3200], does not give third persons the right to infringe a patent of which complainant is owner, nor preclude complainant from maintaining a suit in equity to enjoin such infringement.</p> <p>8. Same—Anticipation—Prior Unsuccessful Devices.</p> <p>A patent for an invention which successfully accomplishes a useful result is not void, for anticipation or prior use, because of a prior device, however similar in combination or close in resemblance to that of the patent, where such prior device was not operative, and failed to produce the result sought, and .which is produced by the device of the patent.</p> <p>4. Same—Infringement—Incandescent Lamp Socket.</p> <p>The device of the Tournier patent, No. 559,232, for an incandescent lamp socket, was not anticipated by either the Weston socket or the Westinghouse push button socket, both of which failed to accomplish the result sought, and attained by the device of the patent. Claims 1, 2, 3, and 4 construed, and held valid and infringed, on a motion for a preliminary injunction.</p> <p>¶ 1. See Patents, vol. 38, Gent. Dig. § 495.</p>