HOLMES V. THE LONDON AND NORTH-WESTERN
RAILWAY COMPANY.
THIS was an action upon the case for an alleged in-
fringement of a patent. The declaration stated that one
William Currie Harrison was the true and first inventor
of a certain manner of new manufacture, to wit, "an
improved turning-table for railway purposes;" that Har-
rison duly obtained a patent for his said invention, and
inrolled a specification thereof, and afterwards assigned
the same to the plaintiff; and that the defendants, after
the making of the letters-patent, and after the making
of the said indenture of assignment, &c., unlawfully,
unjustly, and injuriously, and without the leave, licence,
consent, or agreement of the plaintiff, and against the
will of the plaintiff, worked, used, and put in practice
the said invention, and divers, to wit, fifty parts of the
said invention," and "made, manufactured, and fabri-
cated divers, to wit, five hundred turn-tables and one
thousand parts of turn-tables, according to and by means
of the said invention," and "did counterfeit, imitate,
and resemble the said invention, and divers, to wit, one
Nov. 24.
A specification
of an inven-
tion of " an
improved turn-
ing-table for
railway pur-
poses," de-
scribed the
tion "to con-
alleged inven-
sist in support-
ing the revolv-
ing plate or
upper platform
of the turning-
table, as also its
stays, braces,
arms, and sup-
top of a fixed
post, well
ports, on the
braced, and
resting on or
planted in the
ground, the
top of which
post forms a
pivot for the
table to turn
on, while sup-
port-arms ra-
diating from a
frame work
(the weight of which is also sustained on the post) moving round the bottom part of
the post with friction-rollers, and fastened to the outer edges of the plate, stay the
plate at all sides, and keep it steady, to receive the superincumbent weight of car-
riages or whatsoever is to be turned upon it." And, after describing the drawings, the
specification concluded thus:--"Now, whereas I claim as my invention the improved
turning-table herein before described, and such my invention being to the best of my
knowledge and belief entirely new, and never before used within England, &c., I do declare
this to be my specification of the same, and that I do verily believe this my specification
doth comply in all respects, fully and without reserve or disguise, with the proviso in the
hereinbefore in part recited letters-patent contained; wherefore I hereby claim to main-
tain exclusive right and privilege to my said invention: "-
Held, that the specification claimed the whole combination as new; and,-a jury having
found that the only novelty consisted of the suspending-rods (all the rest having been sub-
stantially described in the specification of a patent previously granted to another person),—
that the defendant, in an action for an alleged infringement, was entitled to a verdict on a
plea taking issue on the sufficiency of the specification.
NORTH-
WESTERN
RAILWAY Co.
thousand parts thereof," and "did make and also cause
and procure to be made, divers, to wit, fifty, additions
to, and divers, to wit, fifty, subtractions from, the said
LONDON AND invention, and from divers, to wit, one hundred, parts
thereof, whereby to pretend, and whereby the defendants
did in fact pretend, themselves to be the inventors and
devisers thereof," and "sold, vended, and put off divers,
to wit, five hundred, turn-tables, and one thousand parts
of turn-tables which had been and were then unlawfully,
wrongfully, and injuriously, and without such licence,
consent, or agreement as aforesaid, made, manufactured,
and fabricated according to and by means of the said
invention," and "did work and use divers, to wit, five
hundred, turn-tables which had been and were then un-
lawfully, wrongfully, and injuriously, and without such
licence, consent, or agreement as aforesaid, made, manu-
factured and fabricated according to and by means of the
said invention, and in breach of the said letters-patent and
privilege, and also divers, to wit, five hundred, other turn-
tables which had been and were then unlawfully, wrong-
fully, and injuriously, and without such licence, consent, or
agreement as aforesaid, made, manufactured, and fabri-
cated in imitation of, and so as to counterfeit and resem-
ble, and with divers parts thereof respectively constructed
in imitation of and so as to counterfeit and resemble the
said invention, and in breach of the said letters-patent
and privilege, and did there unlawfully, wrongfully, and
injuriously, and without such licence, consent, or agree-
ment as aforesaid, work, use, exercise, and put in prac-
tice the said invention, and divers, to wit, twenty, parts
thereof, in breach of the said letters-patent," &c.
The defendants pleaded,-first, not guilty,-secondly,
that Harrison was not the true and first inventor of the
said invention in the letters-patent and declaration men-
tioned,--thirdly, that the alleged invention was not new,
-fourthly, that Harrison did not, in and by the said
instrument in writing in the declaration mentioned, par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the alleged
invention, and in what manner the same was to be and
might be performed. Issue thereon.
THE
LONDON AND
NORTH-
WESTERN
The cause was tried before Jervis, C. J., at the sit-
tings at Westminster after last Trinity Term. The RAILWAY Co.
defence was, that Harrison's alleged invention was
almost entirely copied from an invention which had
previously been patented by one Hancock, although
Hancock's specification had not been filed at the date
of the grant to Harrison; and that Harrison's invention,
if there was novelty in any part of it, was not properly
described in his specification.
The letters-patent granted to Harrison, and his spe-
cification, were put in. The former described the alleged
invention as "An improved turning-table for railway
purposes." The specification, which was inrolled on the
the 28th of July, 1841, was as follows:-
:-
"To all to whom these presents shall come, I, William Specification.
Currie Harrison, of &c., engineer, send greeting: Where-
as, Her present most excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,
by Her letters-patent under the great seal of Great
Britain, bearing date at Westminster, the 28th of Ja-
nuary, in the fourth year of Her reign (1841), did, for
herself, her heirs, and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said W. C. Harrison her especial licence, that
I, the said W. C. Harrison, my executors, administra-
tors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said W. C.
Harrison, my executors, administrators, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times during the term of years therein.
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England and Wales and the town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my invention of an improved
turning-table for railway purposes;' in which said letters-
patent is contained a proviso obliging me the said
W. C. Harrison, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the
nature of my said invention, and in what manner the
LONDON AND same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery
RAILWAY CO. within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said in part recited letters-patent, as in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will
more fully and at large appear: Now know ye, that, in
compliance with the said proviso, I, the said W. C. Har-
rison, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention
to consist in supporting the revolving plate or upper
platform of the turning-table, as also its stays, braces,
arms, and supports, on the top of a fixed post, well
braced, and resting on or planted in the ground; the
top of which post forms a pivot for the table to turn on,
while support arms radiating from a frame-work (the
weight of which is also sustained on the post) moving
round the bottom part of the post with friction-rollers,
and fastened to the outer edges of the plate, stay the
plate at all sides, and keep it steady to receive the super-
incumbent weight of carriages or whatsoever is to be
turned upon it: And, in further compliance with the
said proviso, I do hereby describe the manner in which
my said invention is to be performed, by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the drawings
annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say,-
"Description of the drawing :-Figure 1. is a plan of
the table, with the rails, catch, &c., as usual: the dotted
lines shew the ribs on the under side, to give strength
to the plate of the table. Figure 2. is a section of the
table complete, shewing an upright post connected with
a set of arms or frame-work at the bottom, or otherwise
fixed as may suit the purpose, and bearing the weight of
the table on its top, with arms supporting the extremity
THE
LONDON AND
NORTH-
WESTERN
of the plate in as many places round the plate as shall
be found necessary. A. is a cap on the top of the
upright post, which is to carry the weight of the table
bb. The suspending-rods c c. pass through the cap a.,
and are also connected with the table, so that the table
can be raised and lowered; and these suspending-rods RAILWAY Co.
go down and pass through the friction-roller case d.,
supporting it by the screw-pins e e., formed at their
lower ends: the bottom parts of the suspending-rods
become also the axes for the friction-rollers at the bottom
of the post, and are also made to receive the bottom
ends of the support arms. The top ends of these arms
are connected near the extremity of the plate, and trans-
fer all the stress from the outer sides of the plate, through
the arms, on to the suspending-rods, bringing the weight
directly on to the top of the post: and it will, therefore,
move very much more lightly and easily than with the
rollers round the circle, in the ordinary manner,-which
is a matter of great convenience as to expedition, but a
matter of more importance still when a turn-table is in
almost constant motion. On the present or ordinary
principle of construction, it is certain to be very soon
out of order; but, on this new construction, it is evident,
from the very few wearing parts, that it will continue
very much longer in use without the liability of derange-
ment, which is a great recommendation to its adoption
wherever a turn-table is required. The friction-rollers
in the frame at the bottom of the support-arms, arc,
as will be seen, made to move round the post near the
bottom, along with the turning motion of the table,
while the post is to be stationary, fixed to a set of braces,
ff, which, with the bottom of the post, are to be laid on
concrete, stone, or brick-work,-economy deciding the
choice of the materials,-of such a depth as the nature
of the ground may require. The braces are here shewn
to be put together in parts, for the convenience of
|