289 F. 634 | D.C. Cir. | 1923
Appeal from concurrent decisions of the Patent Office tribunals in an interference proceeding, in which priority of invention was awarded the senior party, Hammett.
The invention is simple and relates to:
“A method of locating a loose piston connection in a cylinder of an internal combustion engine; the method consisting in alternately raising and lowering the pressure of a fluid within the cylinder, while the engine is at rest.”
Each of the tribunals of the Patent Office found that, upon the facts alleged, Chapman was not entitled to amend, and, in view of the fact that such a question is largely within the discretion of those tribunals, we see no reason for differing with them. However, those tribunals found that, even if the amendment was allowed, the evidence fully warranted the conclusion that Hammett had reduced the invention to practice before the earliest date alleged in the amended statement. A review of the evidence upon which this conclusion is based convinces us that the Patent Office is right.
Upon either theory, therefore, the decision must be affirmed.