Osborne v. Patterson’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

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

1. “[The] count defines a transmission structure comprising a combination of a countershaft type transmission with two forward speeds. Those transmissions are conventional and well known in the automotive art. The novelty which is said to be here involved is in the providing of mechanism to make possible and to effectuate the bringing into operation of sequences of combinations of the transmission's speed or gear positions in the ordinary operation of the structure. The novel parts of the combination in the structure are recited in the count as `automatically controlled means' and a `manually operated overcontrol means.' The automatically controlled means is made effective by being responsive to conditions obtaining in the structure, and the manually operated overcontrol means is such that it will supersede the automatically controlled means by manual operation.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Simpson v. Neracher Simpson v. Patterson Simpson v. Maurer. Maurer v. Simpson

2. “* * * It has been held many times in this and other courts that a means for performing any function includes all of the elements contributing to such performance, regardless as to the number or kind of such elements.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Simpson v. Neracher Simpson v. Patterson Simpson v. Maurer. Maurer v. Simpson