Abraham Pennock v. Adam Dialogue’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

88 federal appellate · 14 district · 28 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 298 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““And thus construed, there is much reason for the limitation thus imposed by the act. While one great object was, by holding out a reasonable reward to inventors, and giving them an exclusive right to their inventions for a limited period, to stimulate the efforts of genius; the main object was ‘to promote the progress of! science and useful arts’; and this could be done host, hy giving the public at large a right to make, construct, use and vend the thing invented, at as early a period as possible, having a due regard to the rights of the inventor. If an inventor should be permitted to hold back from the knowledge of the public the secrets of his invention; if he should, for a long period of years, retain the monopoly, and make and sell his invention publicly, and thus gather the whole profits of it, relying upon his superior skill and knowledge of the structure; and then, and then only, when the danger of competition should force him to secure the exclusive right, he should be allowed to take out a patent, and thus exclude the public from any further use than what should be derived under it, during his fourteen years; it would materially retard the progress of science and the useful arts, and give a premium to those who should be least prompt to communicate their discoveries.””

   6 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Eldred v. Ashcroft · Campbell v. Mayor of New York

2. ““ That where English statutes, such, for instance, as the Statute of Frauds and the Statute of Limitations, haye been adopted into our own legislation, the known and settled construction of those statutes by courts of law has beer, considered as silently incorporated into, the acts, or has been received with all the weight of authority.”. Pennock v. Dialogue, 2 Pet. 1 , 18 ; Smith’s Commentaries on Stat. and Const. Law, § 634 ; Sedgwick on Construction of Stat. and Const. Law, 363.”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. McDonald v. Hovey · Chicago, R. I. & P. Ry. Co. v. Stahley

3. “[h]is voluntary act or acquiescence in the public sale and use is an abandonment of his right.”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc. · Pfaff v. Wells Electronics, Inc.