Grant v. Walker

Citations

• 148 U.S. 547
• 13 S. Ct. 699
• 37 L. Ed. 552
• 1893 U.S. LEXIS 2251

Syllabus

<p>Letters patent, No. 267,192,'issued November 7, 1882, to James M. Grant for “certain new and useful improvements in tlie art of reeling and winding silk and other thread ” a.re void for want of patentable novelty, the alleged discovery being only that of a new use for the old device of a cross-reeled and laced- skein; and while the fact that the patented article has gone into general use may be evidence of its utility, it cannot control the language of the statute, which limits the benefit of the patent laws to things which are new, as well as useful.</p> <p>Features in a patented invention which are not covered by the claims are not protected by the letters patent.</p>