United States v. American Bell Telephone Co.’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

43 federal appellate · 18 district · 12 state decisions

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 149 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““In United States v. Telephone Com7 pany, supra, it was decided that where a patent for a grant of any kind issued by the United States has been obtained by fraud, by mistake, or by accident, a suit by the United States against the patentee is the proper remedy for relief, and that in this country, where there is no kingly prerogative, but where patents for land and inventions are issued by the authority of the government, and by officers appointed for that purpose, who may have been imposed upon by fraud or deceit, or may have erred as to their power, or made mistakes in the instrument itself, the appropriate remedy is by proceedings by the United States against the patentee.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. American Bell Telephone Co. · 57 F. Supp. 317 - United States v. Cold Metal Process Co.

2. “The most general words that can be devised (for example, any person or persons, bodies politic or corporate) affect hot him [the King of England] in the least, if they may tend to restrain or diminish any of. his rights and interests. . . . The rule thus settled respecting the British Crown is equally applicable to this government, and it has been applied frequently in the different Statés, and prac tically in the Federal courts. It may be considered as settled that so much of the royal prerogatives as belonged to the King in 'his capacity of parens patries, or universal trustee,, enters as much into our political state as it does into the principles of the British constitution.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. Wittek

3. ““It is settled beyond doubt or controversy, up.on the foundation of the great principle of public policy, applicable to all governments alike, which forbids that the public interests should be prejudiced by the negligence of the officers or agents to whose care they are confided, that the United States, -asserting rights vested in them as , a sovereign government, are not bound by any statute of limitations, unless congress has clearly manifested its intention that they should be so bound.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Pond v. United States