Lamb Knit Goods Co. v. Lamb Glove & Mitten Co.

Citations

• 120 F. 267
• 56 C.C.A. 547
• 1902 U.S. App. LEXIS 4686

Syllabus

<p>1. ' Patents — construction of Claims — Limitation by Specification.</p> <p>Where the identity or specific,character of a patented article of manufacture is affected by the means of its manufacture, an exception must be made to the general rule that the means or process of manufacture is Immaterial, and the claims may be construed with reference to the specification and drawings describing such means, and limited to the article so produced, although not so limited in terms. So in a patent for gloves formed from blanks, which, as described and illustrated in the specification and drawings, were knitted, and in fact, as so described and illustrated, could not be made otherwise, claims which contain no limitation in terms as to the means of manufacture, to save them from the objection that they are too broad, may properly be construed as limited by the specification to knitted gloves; and especially is such construction permissible where it appears to have been the one accepted and acted on by the patent office.</p> <p>2. Same — Validity—Article of Manufacture.</p> <p>The validity of a patent for an article of manufacture is not affected by the fact that such article can be produced on machines previously in use, and adapted to produce various articles, where it was not previously made, and the instruction of the patent was necessary to enable a workman to construct it on the machine.</p> <p>8. Same--Invention.</p> <p>The fact that an article is not more useful than other similar articles does not affect its patentability, but, if it is useful and new, and invention is involved in its production, it is a proper subject for a patent.</p> <p>4. Same — Contributory Infringement.</p> <p>A patentee, who, after disposing of his patent, joins in forming a new company, which manufactures an infringing article, but which he claims to be a new and independent invention of his own, is liable as a contributory infringer.</p> <p>5. Same — Infringement—Knitted Gloves.</p> <p>The