Clark Thread Co. v. Willimantic Linen Co.’s Empirical Analysis
140 U.S. 481 · 1891
Citation profile
79 federal appellate · 50 district · 5 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 190 later decisions (10 by the Supreme Court) — most recently December 1998 · most notably Pfaff v. Wells Electronics, Inc. (1998), Corona Cord Tire Co. v. Dovan Chemical Corp. (1928)
79 federal appellate · 50 district · 5 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on Hoskin v. Fisher
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 190 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““A conception of the mind is not an invention until represented in some physical form.””
6 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“•'‘Conant's testimony cannot be construed as shoving that his invention was eomulcted before the month of July. 18.58. According to his statement it was not until then that ho put it in visible form in the shape of a machine. Tie had conceived of a machine in 1857. and made some patterns, blit in the spring of 1858 he decided upon another style of machine which he completed during the summer — to the best of his recollection in July, 1858. The part of his machine called the traverse changer was the same in the first set of drawings as it is in the present use. This is the substance of the testimony. It is evident that the invention was not completed until ihe construction of the machine. A conception of Tlie mind is not invention until represented in some physical form, and unsuccessful experiments or projects abandoned by the inventor, are equally destitute of that character.””
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority““After Wellers patent was introduced into the ease showing with certainty the date of its publication, and such date anterior to the issue of Oonant’s patent, it was incumbent upon the plaintiffs, in rebuttal, to show, if not with equal certainty, yet to the satisfaction of the court, that Oouant’s invention preceded that date.””
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.