Thomson-Houston Electric Co. v. Ohio Brass Co.’s Empirical Analysis
80 F. 712 · 1897
Citation profile
48 federal appellate · 19 district ·
How this case has been cited
Cited by 106 later decisions (6 by the Supreme Court) — most recently May 2015 · most notably Mercoid Corporation v. Mid-Continent Inv Co (1944), Aro Manufacturing Co. v. Convertible Top Replacement Co. (1964)
48 federal appellate · 19 district ·
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on Washburn Moen Manuf'G Co v. Beat 'Em All Barbed-Wire Co · Miller v. Eagle Manuf'G Co · Morgan Envelope Co. v. Albany Perforated Wrapping Paper Co. · Dermott v. Jones · Bond v. Dustin
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 106 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““An infringement of a patent is a tort analogous to trespass or trespass on the case. From the earliest times, all who take part in a trespass, either by actual participation therein or by aiding and abetting it, have been held to be jointly and severally liable for the injury inflicted. There must be some concert of action between him who does the injury and him who is charged with aiding and abetting, before the latter can be held liable. When that is present, however, the joint liability of both the principal and the accomplice has been invariably enforced.””
5 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority““One who makes and sells one element of a patented combination with the intention and for the purpose of bringing about its use in such a combination, is guilty of contributory infringement, and is equally liable with him who in fact organizes the complete combination.” “One who makes articles which are only adapted to be used in a patented combination, and offers them for sale to the general public, will be presumed to intend the natural consequences of his acts, and will, therefore, be held to intend that they shall be used in the combination of the patent, and an injunction will be granted.””
2 later decisions quote this exact passage““We come now to the question whether patent No. 495,443 is rendered void by the prior issue of patent No. 424,695. This presents much more difficulty than the question just disposed of. In this case, the drawings and specifications of the two patents are substantially alike, and show a car, a track, a post on top of the car, a swinging and hinged arm pivoted in the post with a contact wheel at its outer end. A spring is secured to the lower end of the swinging arm, and to the spring is attached a weight, which works in suitable vertical grooves down through the roof to the front platform within reach, of the driver. The spring and weight maintain the contact of the outer end of the swinging arm with the overhead conductor. Switches in the overhead conductor are maintained immediately over the point in the track where track switches occur. The trolley post and arm are in such positions and of such size that the point of contact of the outer end of the arm and the overnead conductor is back of the front wheels o-f the car. This is for the purpose of imparting to the trolley wheel as it enters the switch in the overhead conductor the direction already taken by the front wheels of the car in entering the switches upon the track. The spring and weight working in vertical grooves are intended to keep the trolley arm in the vertical plane of the longitudinal center of the car, and thus to make its contact wheel more certain to follow in the overhead switch the direction of the car a”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.