Horne v. R. K. Chatham & Co.

Citations

• 64 Tex. 36

Syllabus

<p>1. Patent — Record of transfer in patent office. — The failure of a transferee of a patent to have his transfer recorded in the , patent office within three months after its execution does not affect the validity of the instrument as to the parties thereto. Such assignment will be void as against any subsequent purchaser for a valuable consideration without notice, unless it is recorded in the patent office within three months from the date thereof.</p> <p>3. Same — Assignability of patents. — Every patent, or any interest therein, is assignable in law by an instrument in writing; and the patentee,- his assigns or legal representatives, may grant or convey an exclusive right to use it in the whole or any specified part of the United States.</p> <p>3. Parol evidence admissible. — In a transfer the following clause occurred: “ I sell, assign and transfer unto the Carver Gin and Machine Co. all the right, title and interest whatsoever which I have in and to the said invention,” etc. Eeld, that, as the interest intended to be conveyed was not specified in the writing, parol evidence would be admissible to prove its extent.</p> <p>4. Same — Representations.— Though the vendor represented to the company that he owned the. entire patent, such representation would not have the effect of enlarging the terms of his conveyance and passing an interest of which he had previously divested himself.</p> <p>5. Instruments of like date referring to the same subject-matter. — Several instruments bearing the same date, referring to and seeming to be based upon each other, and defining and adjusting the rights of several parties to the same subject-matter, are presumed to constitute a general settlement, and, in the absence of fraud, conclude a party from going behind this settlement and asserting a claim not advanced when such instruments were executed.</p>