220 F. 309 | 9th Cir. | 1915
(after stating the facts as above). The appellant’s combination differs from that which is described in the patent, in that the crossbars by- means of which he applies external pressure to the door to hold it in place and make a tight joint do not combine with that function the function of hinges, but separate hinges are used, and the detachable crossbars were inserted in lugs on either side of the door frames.
The single element in the appellee’s combination which is not found in prior combinations of the same kind is the compensating link at the top of the door, which resists the tendency of the door to sag upon its pivots and gives it a steady movement while it is being opened and closed. All the other elements are found in the patent to the ap-pellee of date January 7, 1890, letters patent No. 418,867. So, also, the crossbars, which are employed by the appellant, are old, they having been described in the patent to R. D. Dixon, letters patent No. 439,125, issued October 28, 1890, and, had the appellant omitted the compensating link, there could be no question but that he would have avoided infringement. But the appellant has used everything which is found in the appellee’s combination, and in the manner in which it is used therein, with the single exception that he secures the result obtained by the appellee’s hinges by the use of two elements: First, the separate hinges; and, second, the crossbars with the accompanying screw's to equalize the pressure around the sealed joints.
“Infringement is not avoided by the fact that one of the integral elements of his built-up impaling roll is by the appellant separated into two or more distinct parts, so long as the function and operation remain substantially the same.”
To this it is to be said that the “main objects” of the invention so mentioned are not the- only ones enumerated in the specifications. Another main object therein set forth is “security against leaks.” Nor do we think that the language of the patent so referred to should be construed as expressing the intention of the inventor to limit his invention to the precise form described therein. What the inventor meant by using the words, “main objects” was main advantages. The main advantages of his invention were indeed those which he mentioned'as the “main objects” thereof, and we think the words should be so construed. To utilize, as he did, the pressure bars for hinges, was an ingenious and meritorious device. In the absence of an expressed intention on his part to limit his invention to that precise form, we do not think he should be denied the doctrine of equivalents.
Section 4921, Rev. Stat. (Comp. St. 1913, § 9467), provides:
“ * * * And. upon a decree being rendered in any such case for an infringement, the complainant shall be entitled to recover, in addition to the profits to be accounted for by the defendant, the damages the complainant has sustained thereby; and the court shall assess the same or cause the same to be assessed under its direction.'”
The decree follows the language of the statute, and does nob in terms alter or enlarge its provisions. We may assume that in the final decree on the accounting the court will observe the construction placed upon the statute by the decisions of the federal courts. We find nothing in' the language of the decree itself which justifies us in modifying its terms.
The decree is affirmed.