LOIULLA.RD 11. WIGHT.
883
WALLACE, J. Upon the this courtfl'om}hedistrict c01,1rt, the libel to which the claimants' exceptions, were sustained in the court below has been amended 80 that it affirmatively concedes that v.essel "was used by the owners thereof as a common of .thei.! business as 'such carrier, and that neither the owner' p.or the, ma,ster was a, consenting, party or privy .to the illegal a,ct for which was. incurred." This ameI;ldment relieves the case from any mere technical question, a,nd the right to seize: anavroeeed it liI!lmmarily' by libel under section 3088, Rev. St.,to recover 11,' penalty incurred under sectiOn' 2873, althc;>ugh it was avesEjelused as a, QQmmOJ;l carrier, and ol,privy tp the ,neither the. ownernqrlna,ster'Ya,s;8, consenti.ng a,ct for which, the. penalty was incurred, is the bl10ad question presented. by .the claimants; exceptions. The acto! congress ,of Fekmary 8, 1881,.decla,res explicitly that a vessel so used shall not be fjubject to seizure or by force the provisiQns of tItle. 84 of the, Revised Statutes, it, shall appear that the owner or .master, at the time of· the alleged illegal act, was a consenting,plJ,rly ,or privy thereto; and section 2873 is one of the provisions Qf that title. '," . . Fully concurring in the conclusion reached by, the district and deeming that nothing can. be added to the convincing exposition which this act has received in the opini<;>D. delivered by him, his decision is adopted, and.the exceptions are sustained by this court.
of
LORILLARD
and others v.
WIGHT.
(OirlYUit Oourt, D. Maryland.
February 21,1888.'
Where complainants were the first to adopt and use as a mark for their product tin tags variously colored, with the name of their brand and their own name stamped thereon and fastened upon the outside of their plugs of tobacco, although their patent therefor was declared void after surrender and reissue, they had the right to the device as a trade.mark, the public having come to know their tobacco by the tags of their peculiar color, shape, and size. ' 2. 8AllE-LNFRINGEHENT.
Where defendants use tin tags which are a close imitation of the tags of complainallt.-:-so close an hnitation that they are calculated to mislead the retail purc1:taser; whether 'so intended or not,-it is an infringement of complaInants' trade-mark, and such usa may be enjoined.
In Equity. Motion for injunction.
384
FEDERAL
Cowen J Cross, for complainants. Charles Marshall, for respondent. Before BOND and MORRIS, JJ. BOND, J. This bill alleges that the complainants are largely engaged in the manufacture and sale of plug tobaoco; that it frequently occurred, after a box of tobac.co sold by them was emptied, the dealer would refill it with other tobacao not of' complainants manufacture, and by means of the labels and trade marks on the box, sell it for tobacco of complainants. That to prevent this fraudulent praca disk of tin, upon which was stamped tice the complainants their name and the names of the brand of tobacco, placed it upon each· plug of tobacco in a box, and varied the colors of the disks so as further to distinguish to the eye the brands, and sold their product and advertised it as red tin tag or blue tin tag tobacco. The device in the present suit complainants allege they first adopted about August, 1879. At one time they placed the tag beneath the last covering or skin of the tobacco, where it would be held firmly and show throtigh the surface. For this process they obtained a patent, which afterwards they surrendered and obtained a reissue, which was subsequently declared void, because it embraced more than the original patent. But the bill alleges that they had constantly used the device of a colored tin tag, with their name and the brand of the tobacco stamped upon it, placed upon the outside of the plug as a trade-mark in order to show a purchaser at retail that each plug of tobacco purchased by him was of the Lorillard manufacture. The complainants allege further that having advertised their tobacco largely as "red tin tag," "blue tin tag," "green tin tag" tobacco, it is known generally by those names to consumers, who ask for it at the shops by those appellations and know that they get Lorillard tobacco when they see the "red tin tag" or "blue tin tag" upon each plug. The defendant, who alleges himself to be a broker and not a manufacturer of tobacco, denies that complainants have any trade.mark, but alleges that the use of tags to distinguish the grade and quality of many manufactured articles has long been practiced, and that even if the complainants had Emch a trade-mark defendant has not infringed it, because those whom he represents as broker make tobacco of such different sizes and colors, and use tags with names of brands so different from complainants', that no one would mistake the one for the other. We think the evidence shows that the Lorillards were the first to adopt and use as a mark for their product the tin tags variously colored with the name of the brand and their own name stamped thereon
LOBILLARD V. WIGHT.
885
and fastened upon the outside of plugs of tobacco; that while their patent for fastening these tags on the tobacco was declared void after surrender and reissue, they clearly had the right to the device as a trade-mark, the public having come to know their tobacco by its having on it tin of a peculiar co16r, shape, and sIze. ' This being so, a glance at the device used by the defendant, or those whom he represents as broker, is clearly an imitation of the Lorillard device, or the Lorillards' is an imitation of it. To be sure, the little disk of tin upon the tobacco sold by defendant has upon it different names for the brand, and has not Lorillard's name. But the words are in such small letters that no one without the clos.est inspection ' would distinguish the difference. But they are of the same size and shape, of precisely the same color and enamel finish, and the minute letters on them are made with same colored ink. The propf shows that the complainants have for a long time, and very extensively, advertised their tobacco as "red tin tag" ·or "blue tin tag" plug tobacco. It may not be sold to jobbers alwfl,ys as such, but it is so inquired for by and soLl to ·the consumer. The purchasing public, notwithstanding the size of the plugs of tobacco sold by defendant, and their color and flavor, may differ from the size andeolor and flavor' ,of Lorillard's plug tobacco, would be deceived by the color of the tag and its resemblance to that of complainants', and think the red-tag tobacco' of the one is the red-tag tobacco of the other. The defendant contends that the shape and flavor of the plug sold by him will advise the retail purchaser of the manufacturer. But one seldom determines the manufacture by the size of the piece the dealer gives him for his money, and he cannot taste the tobacco till after he has bought it. Besides, if the size and will show the purchasing publio they are buying flavor of the the defendant's or his principal's tobacco, why should he use a tag of any color to distinguish it. For some reason the tags closely resembling those in use by complainants are placed upon the article sold by him, when, as he claims, the public would know his manufacture by the label on the box, the size and shape of the plug, and its flavor. We think the Lorillards were the first to adopt this method of distinguishing the grade and quality of manufactured plug tobacco; that they have a trade-mark; that the defendant's tin tags are a close imitation of it-so close that they are calculated to mislead and do mislead the retail purchaser, whether it is so intended or v.15,no.5-25
FEpERAL
110t; and that:,he should
r.rM defendant has the right to use tin tags,
l>e
from selling tobacco having
but they must be of such size,shape, and color as will not mislead '. .. An order will be passed accordance with this opinion. , M,oRRIS,. J., concurred.
NBW
BELTING & PAOKING CO. and others v. SmLEY. ((]i.rcuit.(]ou'l't,4 ¥a8,q,c}/,u88tt,.
March. 2, 1883.)
IN LE'M'ER!l PATENT.
2: S.um..,.,.R;EMEDYOFPATEWrEE_ 4915.
: The dlsclaimers·, qualification!!. and by the patent-office ,upon a patentee are forever binping upon him if: he chooses to accept a patent Buchqualifications are conditions precedent, and are made to protect- third persons, who might' otherwise be misled to their injury by the enlargement by reissue or by construction. Tneapplicant for a patentm!LY re.fu,se to take it with limitations, and being rejected mayapplJ' to the supreme court of the District of Columbia, under Rev. Bt:§ 4911 ; and, if still disSatislled,he 'has his remedy inequity by section
B. F. Thu,rston and F. P. Fish, for defendant. Before GRAY and LOWELL, JJ. The,4ecision of this case, like so many others of its class, depends upon the construction to be given to the claims of the pate,nt. It is No. 140,635, granted to George Merrill, July 8, 1873, for an improvement in knitting.machines. The result accomplished by the new machinery is the production of a knitted fabric, into which warp and weft threads are introduced, without weaving in the ordinary mode, for the warp and weft are locked or held together by a second weft or knitting thread. Any knitting-machine may be adapted to this use, and the mere operation of knitting in not changed· .The most essential thing is to present the warps to the knitting needles at an angle to tlle line of action or reciprocation of the needles, else there will be no o!,portunity for them to move as they must, in and out, to form and interlock the loops. So plain is the necessity for this special mode of operation, that the witnesses in chief for the plaintiffs testify that a piece of cloth shown them as having been
,c. H. Drew, for complainant.