194 F. 421 | 3rd Cir. | 1912
Making, then, the opinion of that court by reference the basis of our own, we content oursehes with briefly stating the conclusions to which a study of the record leads. In doing so, we take, for illustration, as did the court below, claim 2, as embodying the crux of the case. These conclusions are: First, the invention of Gillette is substantially set forth in claim 2, viz., “as a new article of manufacture, a detachable razor-blade of such thinness and flexibility as to require external support to its cutting edge”; second, the proofs carry Gillette’s invention to 1895; third, Gillette’s device was generic, original, and not anticipated in the razor art; fourth, the proceedings in' the
, In support of .the second proposition nothing- need be said save to refer to the lower court’s opinion. The facts cited therein justify :,nch conclusion.
As to the. third proposition, we may say that a careful study of the razor-making- art satisfies u's that a ribbon of wafer razor-blade, so thin as to require external support of its cutting edge, was original with Gillette, and a like study of the art of making razor steel, its chemical qualities, its tempering and the blade contour obtained to aid honing, satisfy us that the Gillette blade was a radical departure from the whole teaching, practice, and trend of the prior art. As to such prior art not anticipating" Gillette’s device, we can add nothing to the thorough examination and discussion in the opinion below.
“The invention of a needle with the eye near the point is the basis of all the sewing machines used, but the methods of operating such a needle are many; and, if Howe had been obliged to make his own method a part of every claim in which the needle was an element, his patent would have been practically worthless.”
On the question of infringement, we agree with the conclusion, of the court below, which we restate, viz.:
‘‘The flat backing of the holder as used by the defendant is manifestly a mechanical equivalent for the curved backing adopted by the complainant in its commercial form of razor. The curved form would seem, as the patentee has suggested, to be the better form, but the defendant cannot escape infringement by simply substituting a flat backing which obviously performs the same function as the curved backing, and in substantially the same way. There arc other differences between the devices of the complainant and the defendant. but they are so slight and unimportant as scarcely to require consideration. For instance, the complainant’s blade has two positioning holes which engage positioning studs formed near the ends of the back of the razor, and a central hole for engaging the threaded stud which secures the clamping holder in place; while defendant’s holder has two projections on the guard, and the blade is provided with a long slot through which the clamping screw passes, while the ends of the slot fit over the guard projections. This slot of the defendant’s blade when it is applied-to the complainant's commercial form of holder exactly fits it. Indeed, the defendant advertises its blade as adapted to be used in the complainant’s holder. There is, as already intimated, no real difference between the two devices, and any apparent differences are purely mechanical and evasive, and possibly designed to circumvent the claims of the patent in suit.”
The decree of the court below will therefore be affirmed.