Halstead v. Houston

Citations

• 111 F. 376
• 1901 U.S. App. LEXIS 4969

Syllabus

<p>Unfair Competition—Circulars Advertising Book—Use of Garbled Letter to Mislead.</p> <p>Complainant published a letter announcing to the public that he was engaged in writing a life of President McKinley, and giving the name of the' publisher.. He further stated that there was being advertised another “Life of McKinley,” purporting to have been written by him; that in 1896 he had prepared a campaign publication regarding the tlieu Republican candidates for president and vice president, which he understood was being changed, and sold as his “Life of McKinley,” but that he had not had anything to do with such book since its first publication. Defendant, who was publishing and selling still another book on the same subject, issued a circular in which he copied that part of complainant’s letter which denied his connection with the second work mentioned therein, but omitted the portion relating to complainant’s new work, and added an indorsement, which, in connection with the extract printed, was calculated to mislead the public by inducing the belief that any book offered as complainant’s was fraudulent, and not authentic. The proofs showed that such circular in fact created the confusion in regard to complainant's book which it was the purpose of his letter to prevent. Held, that such circular was constructively fraudulent, even if not so intended, and its promulgation caused an injury to complainant, against which he was entitled to protection of injunction.1</p>