machine
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 214 U.S. 366 - Expanded Metal Co. v. Bradford · 1909Most cited · 604 citing opinions
in patent law
A machine is a thing. A process is an act, or a mode of acting. The one is visible to the eye,—an object of perpetual observation. The other is a conception of the mind,—seen only by its effects when being executed or performed. Either may be the means of producing a useful result.
How often courts cite the cases defining “machine”
Court decisions citing the 2 opinions that defined “machine” — 670 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 2 definitions, chronological · 1909–1939
As used in the statute, 'machine' includes apparatus.