Roberts v. Ryer’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

157 federal appellate · 30 district · 3 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. ““ ‘A change only in form, proportions, or degree, doing substantially the same thing in the same way, by substantially the same means, with better results,’ * * * is not such invention as will sustain a patent.” Roberts v. Ryer, 91 U. S. 150 , 23 L. Ed. 267 .”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. William Schwarzwaelder & Co. v. City of Detroit · Farrell v. Boston & M. Consol. Copper & Silver Min. Co.

2. “[t]he inventor of a machine is entitled to the benefit of all the uses to which it can be put, no matter whether he had conceived the idea of the use or not.”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Appleton Manuf'g Co. v. Star Manuf'g Co. · Gottfried v. Crescent Brewing Co.

3. ““It is no new invention to use an old machine for a new purpose. The inventor of a machine is entitled to the benefit of all the uses to which it can be put, no matter whether he had conceived the idea of the use or not.” See, also, Stowe v. City of Chicago, 21 O. G. 790.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Ansonia Brass & Copper Co. v. Electrical Supply Co. · New Process Fermentation Co. v. Koch