Howe v. Atwood’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 district ·

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

1. ““Thus we find the Smith patent distinguishing its ‘ball and socket’ feature on an inclined axis as accomplishing a result not obtainable by ‘pintles’ and insisting that pintles could not be used on the new doors without at least one or more of the hinges being exposed and adding that alignment was difficult. In practice, however, defendants found that their own Smith hinge was not feasible because the Smith ball and socket arrangement would not support a heavy car door and discontinued its manufacture. “We do not question that the Smith patent was a pioneer in the inclined axis hinge type but there is more to the Howe hinge than an inclined axis. The pintéis themselves are inclined. Even in the drawing accompanying the second hinge in which there are two pin-tles, both the top and bottom pintles are inclined in complete alignment. The claims are all specifically based on an inclined pintle built into the hinge and Claims 3 and 4 are additionally based on a gooseneck-hinge member of substantial curvature varying the extent of curvature from top to bottom to compensate for the inclination of the pintle.” (Italics added.)”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Howe v. General Motors Corp.

2. ““ * * * [I] t is the understanding of this court that the secret of the claims of the second hinge [Patent ’490] lies in the fact that the inclination of the axis inwardly from the car door and longitudinally towards the front of the car is accomplished by the use of an inclined pintle built into the hinge, this inclination being compen-stated for by using a goose-neck hinge member varying the extent of its curvature from top to bottom.” The court goes on, at 987: “ * * * [T]he drawing accompanying the second Howe hinge shows how it could be utilized with two pint-les as well as one, and incidentally one of the arguments used by defendants in limiting Howe’s first patent was that his drawings did not cover a duplex (two pintle) hinge. But Howe’s drawing in the second patent did — and the drawings accompanying a patent with its claims are illuminating when the question of prior art and intended coverage is at issue.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Howe v. General Motors Corp.

3. ““It is our holding that where there were hinges with the pintles inclined and aligned on an inclined axis fitted upon a door or in a depression of the door pillar to obtain results of the Howe patent made and sold by defendant, plaintiff may recover. This we hold whether in a duplex unitary type or in a single type hinge.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Howe v. General Motors Corp.