Sayre v. Scott’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 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. ““It is furtlier argued, however, that, supposing the devices to he sufficiently described, they do not show any invention, and that the combination set forth in the fifth claim is a mere aggregation of old devices, already well known, and therefore it is not patentable. This argument would be sound if the combination claimed by Webster was an obvious one for attaining the advantages proposed, — one which would occur to any mechanic skilled in the art. But it is plain from the evidence, and from the very fact that it was not sooner adopted and used, that it did not, for years, occur in this light to even the most skillful persons. It may have been under their very eyes, they may almost be said to have stumbled over it, but they certainly failed to see it, to estimate its value, and to bring it into notice. * * * At this point we are constrained to say that we cannot yield our assent to the argument that the combination of the different parts or elements for attaining the 'object ill-view- was'so obvious as to merit no title to invention.' Now that it ' has succeeded, it may seem very plain to any one that he could have done it as well. -This is often the case with inventions of the greatest merit. It may -be laid down as a general rule, though perhaps not an invariable one, that if d new combination and arrangement of known elements produce a new and beneficial result, never attained before, it is evidence of invention. -' It was certainly a new and useful result to make a loo”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Krajewski v. Pharr